CinderAqua
by Chibichurro
Summary: As if you hadn't seen this done before... A twist on the classic fairy tale with MAR characters, staring none other than Aqua as Cinderella. Aqua x Nanashi.
1. Part 1: The Beginning

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Marchen Awakens Romance or any of the characters mentioned in this fic.

**Notes**: This fanfic spawned partly from my own demented imagination, and an RP I had with a friend on a forum, whose username is Anurizu. It started at the beginning of the year, and was meant only to be a crack RP. However, I already had a story in mind before the RP, but I didn't follow through with it because I thought no one would want to read it. But then, summer came, and bored one night, I decided, "Hey, what the heck, I'll just write it anyway." So here you go. Many parts are borrowed from the RP, and those ideas that were created by Anurizu will be credited to her at the end of each chapter. Also, please do not take this fic too seriously, as it was meant to be a humor/crack fic in the first place. Well, enjoy!

**Cinder-Aqua**

**Part 1: The Beginning**

_Once upon a time, in a world known as Mar-heaven... In a lovely little village by the sea…_

There lived a happy family, with their single daughter, whom they named Aqua. Aqua was a happy little girl, always spirited and optimistic, and she was always kind. Her parents were also kind people too, and when Aqua was 12, they adopted another child, named Loco. Now, Loco was quite different from most children. She was full of mystery—even Aqua's parents didn't really know where she came from. Although she looked about 10, she acted much more maturely for her age, and she was also quiet most of the time. She never made friends, or took interest in anything. However, Aqua and Loco got along well enough, even if they rarely talked to each other.

Then one day, disaster struck. Aqua's mother died of a severe illness, and in grief, her father married any woman he could find—unfortunately, it happened to be Rapunzel. Rapunzel was an ugly and mean woman with a heart as cold as ice. Now, Rapunzel also had a younger brother named Giromu, who was just as mean and ugly. With their looks, one would wonder why Aqua's dad chose to marry someone like Rapunzel, (but he was pretty depressed, I guess...)

Since Aqua's family was rather rich, Rapunzel and Giromu treated her father nicely enough. But when Aqua and her adopted sister Loco were left alone with the evil pair, they were bullied and threatened. Also, Rapunzel forced Aqua and Loco to call Giromu "step-brother" instead of "step-uncle", since that made him sound too old.

Anyway, soon after, Aqua's father died of grief (over his first wife) and Rapunzel inherited all of the family's fortune, just like she had wanted. Without a father to watch over them, Aqua and Loco were treated worse than ever, now having to wear rags and do chores all day while Rapunzel spent the family's fortune on grand luxuries for herself and Giromu. Unfortunately, they always treated Aqua the worst, since she appeared to be the oldest. And because she was always so dirty from cleaning the house top to bottom, and always covered in soot, they gave her the nick-name, "Cinder-Aqua". Throughout this harsh time, Loco was the only friend Aqua had, and they silently comforted each other in hopes that this bad time would all end soon...

-----------------------------

**(Present)  
**

Aqua, now a lovely young lady of 16, was bent over and busy scrubbing the floors of her large cottage. She wore worn-out, ragged dress that was old and moldy, and about a few sizes too small. (Her step-mother wasn't willing to buy clothes for her more than once every two years.) Due to it being so old, the colors had already faded, and it was now a boring grey color.

Despite all this destitution, Aqua still found time to be happy, and she hummed a tune as she worked. When she was finally finished cleaning the last patch of floor, she stood up and surveyed her work proudly with clear, light blue eyes. She brushed her short blue hair of the same color out of her eyes, just as her step-mother and step-un—no, step-BROTHER—came down the stairs with much a-stomping.

"CINDER-AQUA!" screeched Rapunzel like a banshee. She was wearing an atrocious green dress that showed WAY too much of her cleavage and had hideous bows covering it, as if they had been put on by some bow-maniac. Her dirty blonde hair was up in a drill shape (though how she got it to stay like that all the time was quite a mystery). She rarely ever let it down, and washed it even less (much to the distress of both Aqua and Loco). Whenever she was mad, she would threaten to spear Aqua with her hair (which was quite often too).

"Cinder-Aqua!" she repeated once again in case Aqua was too dumb not to hear the first time. "Have you finished cleaning the floors?"

"Y-Yes!" stammered Aqua nervously, wringing the wet cloth she was holding in her hands. "I hope that it's clean enough for you…"

Rapunzel surveyed the floor with eyes like an eagle, and, being satisfied, directed Aqua to yet another task.

"You shall now clean the back yard, then make us dinner, got it?"

"Yes ma'm!"

"Hey, where's the squirt?" asked Giromu, looking around with his beady little eyes. He was referring to Loco. He always called her that. His skin was a pale, white color, and he had spiky purple hair complete with a little horn at the top of his head. He also seemed to have a third eye on his forehead.

"Ah, Loco-chan is out buying some more groceries…" said Aqua hastily. There was a "creak" of a door opening. "Ah! That must be her now!"

And indeed it was. From the front door entered Loco, struggling slightly under the two bags she held. She quickly put them on top of a nearby table. Despite four years having passed, she still looked the same as the very day she was adopted. She had blue, blank eyes, and blonde hair tied in pigtails at the sides of her head. She also had two long bangs hanging down in front of her face and was wearing a dull blue dress.

"Loco is sorry that she is late." Said Loco in a monotone voice, who always referred to herself in third person. "Loco had trouble carrying home the groceries."

"Ah, there you are Loco." Said Rapunzel. She also didn't treat Loco so badly as Aqua because she forgot that Loco even existed most of the time. "You may rest now. I have nothing else for you to do. That is… unless my dear, sweet little brother Giromu needs anything." Here she looked at Giromu lovingly, eliciting a silent gag from Aqua and a rolling of the eyes from Loco. Fortunately for their lives, Rapunzel and Giromu did not notice.

"Let's play Simon Says!" said Giromu, turning to grin at Loco evilly. A vein suddenly started popping in Loco's forehead, and her usually emotionless face turned into a look of slight annoyance.

"Loco does not wish to play your brainless games." …Was what Loco would have said, had Rapunzel not been staring at her menacingly. Instead, what she said was, "Loco does not think it will be fun for only two people to play."

"Who cares, if my cute little brother says it, then you must do it!" cackled Rapunzel evilly, sending scared birds flying from the roof of the cottage.

"If Giromu told you to jump off a cliff, would you do it?" …Was what Loco would have said if she did not value her life. Instead, she replied sullenly, "Fine," and trudged up the stairs miserably, with Giromu in the lead, to his room.

"Cinder-Aqua!" screeched Rapunzel shrilly, turning her attention back to the poor girl again. "Why are you still not outside and cleaning the backyard? If you don't finish cleaning and making our meal by sunset, I'll send you to bed without dinner!"

"Y-yes ma'm!" sputtered Aqua as she quickly rushed outside, not wanting to face the wrath of an angry Rapunzel. Especially one with sharp, pointy hair.

-----------------------------

Meanwhile, in a dark alleyway, two thieves were roaming the streets… Or, to be more exact, one thief and his luggage carrier were roaming the streets.

"Why do I have to carry all this stuff, Nanashi-san!" whined a long, blond-haired, pink-eyed, effeminate young man. He was wearing a light blue, long-sleeved shirt and white pants. He was also carrying a large pack of stolen goods on his back.

"Because you can't do anything else, Rolan!" muttered Nanashi angrily, sneaking along the dark alley. He too had long blonde hair, but it draped over one of his green eyes. He also wore a red headband, with a red shirt and white pants. "I'm the only one who's good at stealing, so you're the one who gets to carry all the stuff! Be glad you even have a job!"

"But, but--!" wailed Rolan, but he was immediately silenced by Nanashi.

"Quiet! I hear something…" Nanashi stopped at a wall and then stood on his toes and stealthily peeped over it.

"Nanashi-san! It's not nice to peep--!"

"SHUT UP!"

But the pair was stopped in the middle of their argument as a loud sobbing sound resounded from the other side of the wall. Nanashi turned to look over the wall again, and Rolan, overcome with curiosity, peeked over too.

"Hypocrite." Muttered Nanashi, as Rolan's head appeared next to his. Rolan only made a face at this statement. The sobbing noise continued. Nanashi and Rolan found that it belonged to a young girl in rags with blue hair…

"I'm sick of this!" sobbed Aqua, sitting on an old stone bench in the shade of some trees, with a broom laid on her lap. "I can't take anymore of step-mother's treatment! She has no right to treat us like this, even as our legal guardian!"

"Hmm, looks like some family trouble…" whispered Rolan.

"Gee, ya think?" Nanashi answered back sarcastically.

Aqua, sobbed some more, then suddenly quieted. She quickly wiped away her tears and stood up.

"No," started she; "I can't let step-mother and step-brother see me like this. I won't give them the pleasure of knowing how miserable I am. I'll just keep smiling and working! I know that someday, this will all end soon. Someday…"

And with that, Aqua began sweeping the backyard, smiling all the while. Nanashi and Rolan felt that they had enough of peeping as they slipped back into the shadows.

"Aw, such a poor girl…" said Rolan, sighing. "She seems like a nice person whose luck just didn't seem to work out."

"Yeah." Replied Nanashi simply.

-----------------------------

Night fell quickly, like a thick black curtain descending over the village. However, while Aqua and Loco were faced with the task of pleasing their overbearing relatives; and Nanashi and Rolan were going thieving in the cover of the night; there happened to be yet another problem far away, in a place known as Kaldea…

"What do you mean, punishment?(!)" screeched a pink-haired witch with gleaming red eyes. They were narrowed in anger towards an elderly man with a very long white beard. The elderly man seemed unfazed by this spectacle.

"Dorothy, since took one of the ÄRMs from the storage without my permission," said the man; "You shall be punished just like everyone else, princess or not."

"Oh, yeah, that…" muttered Dorothy nervously. "But it was only one little ÄRM…"

"Your punishment…" continued the Elder as if he had not heard her; "Is that you will be exiled from Kaldea until you have finished a task. And the task is that you have to do 100 good deeds before you are allowed to return."

"A hundred? No prob!" said Dorothy happily, breathing out a sigh of relief. "Is there anything else?"

"Yes, there is one more condition…" started the elderly man again, making Dorothy gulp loudly.

"You will only have a limited amount of magic during this time, and if you waste it all, you won't get more."

"WHAT?(!)" cried Dorothy loudly, for a witch without magic was like a fish without water. "How can I complete this task with only a bit of magic?"

"Not everything needs to be accomplished by magic, Dorothy. That is a lesson you must learn."

With that having been said, the old man clapped his hands together, and a gold wristband appeared on Dorothy's left wrist. It had the numbers, "100" on it.

"You may take any of your stuff," continued the old man. "As long as you can carry it all."

"My broom and ÄRMs are all I need." Said Dorothy angrily, mounting her broom and flying out of Kaldea, towards a small village by the sea…

-----------------------------

It was early morning the next day, when there was a knock on the door of Aqua's cottage. Aqua was busy making breakfast when she heard the knock.

"I wonder if that's the milkman…" said Aqua to herself, as she rushed to the door. But when she opened it, all she saw was a short dog with overalls and a Santa hat on his head. He also wore glasses, perched on top of his nose.

"Greetings!" said the dog in a gruff voice. "My name is Edward, and I am the Prince's loyal servant. I am here today to give you all invitations to the royal ball that will be held in one week." He took out four invitations from a large bag he was carrying.

"Oh my, a royal ball!" exclaimed Aqua excitedly.

"Yes, and at this ball, the Prince will choose his next wife--" But Edward was interrupted by a loud stomping noise as Rapunzel and Giromu stomped down the stairs quite noisily. Loco followed slowly behind, having just been awakened by all the commotion.

"What's going on here?" shouted Rapunzel angrily, seeing that Aqua was not doing any work.

"Ah, Step-mother, the Prince of this village had invited us to his royal ball!" put in Aqua quickly, before Rapunzel had time to punish her. Rapunzel's anger seemed to disappear when she heard this.

"I ball, hmm?" she asked, noticing the dog cowering behind Aqua in the doorway. "And you are--?"

"I-I'm the Prince's loyal servant!" said Edward when addressed. He then proceeded to relate the whole speech again.

"So, the Prince is finally picking a wife?" said Rapunzel wickedly. "I guess I'll go…" With that, she grabbed the four letters from Edward and read them. She smiled evilly. "Oh, we won't be needing this one…" said Rapunzel, ripping Aqua's invitation in front of her very eyes.

"No!" cried Aqua, eyes filling with tears.

Loco gasped angrily at this display, Giromu laughed wickedly, and Edward just stared in shock. Rapunzel let out a long cackle as she threw away the ripped letter nonchalantly. She then turned her gaze to Aqua, who had fallen to the floor. Loco had rushed to her side.

"Cinder-Aqua!" shouted Rapunzel, her anger rising again. "Get back to work!" With that, she turned and went into another room, cackling all the while, with Giromu following behind.

"I'm so sorry, young lady…" said Edward sadly to Aqua. "There is only one copy of the letter for each and every person. I'm… sorry…"

"Leave." This was said by Loco. The dog obeyed, and left silently. Loco then turned to look at Aqua again, who was quietly sobbing.

"Aqua…"

-----------------------------

Meanwhile, as Edward was walking through the village, delivering more letters, he happened to pass by a familiar shady pair who was sitting at an outdoor restaurant…

"Hey, Nanashi-san," said Rolan, chomping on a buttered bun which was his breakfast. "I wonder what those letters are for…"

"They're invitations for a royal ball." Said Nanashi, matter-of-factly, one of the letters held in his hand. Rolan did a double-take.

"Nanashi-san! Where'd you get that?" asked Rolan surprised.

"I stole it." Was Nanashi's simple reply. This threw Rolan into something of a fit.

"N-Nanashi-san! That's someone's invitation! If we steal it, that person won't get to go!"

"Don't get into such a fuss, I was going to return it anyway… And I think it's time we should get going."

With this, Nanashi stood up from his seat at the table. Rolan did the same, once again lugging the bag of stolen goods along. As Nanashi passed by Edward, he quickly slipped the letter into his bag, without the dog even noticing that it had been missing.

"So…" started Rolan slowly. "Are you going to the ball?"

"Heck yes!" said Nanashi. "There will be tons of rich people, and lots of stuff to steal!"

"That's all you ever think about, isn't it…" muttered Rolan quietly. However, what he was unaware of was that Nanashi also had another motive…

**To be continued!**

**More notes: **Yes, first chapter finished! I plan on making this a five-chapter fanfic, so that's one down, and four to go! ((groans slightly)) Anyway:

-chan: This is just one of the many honorifics that the Japanese put at the end of a person's name. It is used as a term of endearment, mostly towards girls, but it can also be used for little boys, pets, etc.

-san: Used after a name to indicate respect. It's sort of like saying Mr., Miss, Ms., or Mrs. It also used by people as a polite way of addressing someone.

?(!): These may look kind of out of place, but that was the only way that I could put a question mark and an exclamation point together, since this site doesn't allow it. I have no idea why, but I find it quite annoying…

Oh yeah, and I hope the partner parings don't annoy anyone… I thought Loco would have been a good friend for Aqua. Also, I just always seemed to think that Nanashi and Rolan would be good partners, but I don't know why… Maybe just more of my demented imagination…

See you next time!


	2. Part 2: The Ball

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Marchen Awakens Romance or any of the characters mentioned in this fic.

**Notes:** Do you guys remember me saying in the last chapter that this would be a five chapter fanfic? Well, I think it's going to be more like seven or eight… ((groans some more))

**Cinder-Aqua**

**Part 2: The Ball**

(One week later, on the night of the royal ball…)

"Cinder-Aqua!" screeched Rapunzel once again. Rapunzel was wearing a crimson red dress this night, with many frills. It was Rapunzel's favorite dress, although Aqua and Loco thought it looked rather tacky. Rapunzel also let her hair down this night, and it was Aqua and Loco who were forced to wash it (much to both of their disgust).

Aqua was cleaning the fireplace when Rapunzel called her, and she rushed quickly to where she stood.

"Yes, step-mother?"

"Cinder-Aqua, since you aren't going to the ball…" Rapunzel felt that she had to rub it in one more time. "…You'll have to stay at home doing chores." Rapunzel saw to her delight that Aqua's face fell when she said that.

"But, step-mother," started Aqua cautiously; "Can't I just have one night off? After all, isn't it bad enough that I don't get to go?"

Rapunzel seemed put into a rage by this statement, and she slapped Aqua in the face, just as Loco and Giromu entered the room. Loco was wearing a simple, light green dress. It was obvious that Rapunzel had bought it at a second-hand store, for it had patches in many places, sewed in by none other than Aqua. Giromu, on the other hand, was wearing a handsome black tuxedo, although he himself did not look very handsome in it…

"Aqua!" cried Loco, seeing Aqua fall to the floor again, rushing to her side.

"Don't you dare touch her!" shouted Rapunzel, halting Loco in her tracks. "You'll get your dress all dirty. Now do you see why I ripped up your letter, Cinder-Aqua? It would have saved you all the humiliation. Someone as dirty as you would never be let into the castle!"

"As if they'd let YOU in…" muttered Loco under her breath.

"What was that?" asked Rapunzel, narrowing her eyes at Loco.

"Nothing…"

"Well, anyway…" continued Rapunzel. "Cinder-Aqua, since we'll be gone for most of the night, I've decided to give you double chores so you won't get bored. Isn't that nice of me?" Here she took out a very long list and cackled evilly, sending owls flying from the nearby trees.

"Thank you, step-mother…" mumbled Aqua in resignation, taking the list.

"Come, Giromu!" said Rapunzel, waltzing out the door to where their carriage was waiting. "Oh, I sure hope the Prince will dance with me tonight…"

"As if he'd dance with YOU…" muttered Loco, luckily too far out of earshot for Rapunzel to hear. Giromu had already followed his sister outside, leaving Loco and Aqua alone.

"I'm sorry that you can't go Aqua…" said Loco. "I would have given you my invitation and let you go instead, but Rapunzel wouldn't let me…"

"I understand, Loco-chan." Said Aqua, standing up and smiling. "I guess it's just my fate."

"LOCO! WE'RE LEAVING!"

With a soft, "good bye," Loco quickly ran outside, and soon, the sounds of a carriage could be heard, going farther and farther into the distance. Aqua looked at the list sullenly, then sat on an up-turned bucket and cried. Fortunately for Aqua, her cries were heard by a familiar young witch with pink hair…

-----------------------------

"Darn it!" cried Dorothy, walking through the streets, her broom swung over her shoulder. She was looking at her gold wristband. The numbers, "73" shone brightly on it.

"I thought that this helping people out thing would have been easier…" moaned Dorothy. "It's been a week already and I still haven't even reached the halfway point! Darn this stupid ball! Because of it, there's no one else left in the village to help!"

But Dorothy was stopped suddenly by a loud sob coming from one of the cottages. Curious as to who would still be in the village on this night, Dorothy decided to investigate. She flew onto the roof of said cottage, and looked down through a hole in the roof. What she saw was a sobbing young girl in rags.

"I wish I could go to the ball!" was what she said. "I wish I could at least have a chance to dance with the Prince!"

A light bulb went up in Dorothy's head.

"Alright!" she thought. "Someone to help!" Unfortunately, either the roof of the cottage was very weak; or Dorothy had eaten one too many cakes; for the roof of the cottage collapsed where Dorothy stood, and brought Dorothy down with it, right in front of the sobbing young girl.

Aqua was quite surprised, (obviously), and the first thing she said was…

"What happened to my roof?(!) Rapunzel will kill me when she finds out!"

That was when she noticed the pink-haired witch, arising from the pile.

"W-who are you?(!)" asked Aqua, backing away from the figure, who was brushing herself off. Dorothy straightened up quickly when she heard herself addressed.

"Um, I'm…" thought Dorothy quickly. "I'm… er, your fairy godmother! Yes, that's it! And I've come to grant you your wish! My name is Dorothy-chan!"

Aqua still stared, somewhat awestruck.

"What, am I really that scary?" asked Dorothy, getting slightly annoyed.

"N-no!" stammered Aqua. "Of course not! It's just--"

"You didn't think that anyone could be this beautiful, right?"

"Er…"

"RIGHT?" asked Dorothy, this time in a menacing kind of voice.

"Yes…" replied Aqua. She might as well go along with it, as long as Dorothy really COULD make her wish come true. "But you don't really LOOK like a fairy godmother…"

Dorothy looked down at her dark blue witch's gown.

"Er, this is only my night gown!" lied Dorothy quickly.

"I… see…"

"Okay, now that that's settled," continued Dorothy in a sweet voice, smiling; "Tell me what the situation is, and I'll see what I can do for you!"

"Er, can you fix my roof first?"

"…I'll do it later."

-----------------------------

(Meanwhile, at the ball:)

A young man was sitting on his throne, bored. His crown was slanted on his head, and his robes were composed of red, blue, and gold colors. His long black hair draped over his shoulders. He was the Prince of the seaside village, and he looked very similar to a certain young thief…

"Prince Galian!" This was said by a man who appeared near Galian's side. He had green hair and large red circles around his eyes. He wore what seemed to be a Jester's outfit.

"Ah, Magical Rou." Started Galian, turning towards the jester. "So, have you been having fun?"

"Yes, your majesty! This is quite a fun party."

"Well, at least SOMEONE is having fun…"

"Oh? You're not?"

"No! It's boring! There's nothing to do or see…"

"Aren't you supposed to be picking out a wife, your highness?"

"Yes, but I'm beginning to regret that decision. I don't like having all these people here at the castle…"

"Oh, not the sociable type, are we?"

"Shut up, Rou."

-----------------------------

(Meanwhile, back in the cottage!)

"…And that is what has happened so far." Finished Aqua. "So, Fairy Godmother Dorothy-chan, could you please help me go to the ball?"

Dorothy was asleep on a sofa, snoring. Aqua fell over onto the floor (anime style!)

"Dorothy-chan! You're not very helpful!"

This woke Dorothy out of her slumber.

"I'm sorry," said she; "It's just that your story was so long and boring…"

Aqua seemed on the verge of tears again.

"…But don't worry!" added Dorothy quickly. "I've got just what you need to go to the ball!"

Aqua's face brightened at this.

"Hmm, let's see…" said Dorothy, pacing around the room. "You'll need a fancy dress for the ball, right? Well, I'll see what I can do!"

With this, Dorothy waved her wand—er, broomstick—and sparkles and clouds surrounded Aqua. When they were gone, Aqua was wearing a light blue dress. It had a large collar made from pearly white shells, and a frill of lace at the bottom of the dress. On the dress were many balls of various sizes and assorted colors, along with sequins of yellow stars and blue seashells. Large white shell bracelets also appeared on her wrists, and on both her arms appeared two bands which had a single blue ball attached to them. On her feet appeared two blue slippers, decorated with more white shells and two red balls. Dorothy surveyed her work proudly.

"Isn't it pretty?" she said happily. "It's sea-themed! You know, because you live by the sea!"

"It looks a bit… tacky…" Aqua said cautiously. A vein popped in Dorothy's forehead.

"WELL BEGGARS CAN'T BE CHOOSERS, OKAY!" exploded Dorothy.

"Y-yes, ma'm!" squeaked Aqua. "But, why ordinary slippers? I thought that glass shoes would have been fancier…"

"Oh glass shoes are SO last year." stated Dorothy flatly. "And these slippers aren't ORDINARY. If you tap your shoes together, skates will appear on the bottom! Perfect for ice-skating!"

"I'll keep that in mind…" said Aqua, but what she thought in her head was, "How will that be helpful in the middle of summer?"

"Oh yes, I forgot the hat!"

"…The hat?"

With that, Dorothy took out her dimension zipper, unzipped it, and began rummaging around in it. Aqua just looked on in awe. You would too, if you saw someone's hand disappear into a space that used to be thin air.

"Ah, ha!" yelled Dorothy, pulling out a large spiky yellow seashell and shoving it onto Aqua's head rather roughly. Guess she was still mad from Aqua's comment about the dress being tacky…

"W-what is this?" asked Aqua, adjusting the hat. Dorothy led her to a full-length mirror that happened to be in the same room.

"It's a hat, silly!" said Dorothy, nodding proudly at her work. "Not only will it conceal your identity, but it also doubles as a weapon!"

"How will THAT help me to conceal my identity?" asked Aqua, not convinced.

"Don't worry; no one will recognize you with the hat!"

"…" went Aqua, still unconvinced.

"But just to be on the safe side…"

With this, Dorothy bent down and poked Aqua under her left eye. A red star appeared.

"There! And now, for the transportation!"

"Wait!" cried Aqua. "How will I get into the castle without an invitation? And what about my chores?"

"Well, I can do the chores for you, but I don't know about the invitation. I've never seen it so I can't magic up a copy… But don't worry! I'm sure you'll be able to sneak in just fine, with that dress you're wearing!"

Here, Aqua stifled a groan.

"Now, for the transportation!"

-----------------------------

(Back at the ball…)

Two familiar characters had just sneaked into the ball via a balcony.

"Nanashi-san, do you really think this was a good idea?" whispered Rolan. He and Nanashi were both wearing white tuxedos this time, stolen by Nanashi, of course.

"You can stop whispering now, Rolan." Said Nanashi. "It's making us look suspicious. Just relax and go along with the crowd."

"But what if the guards ask for our invitations?"

"Pfft, I don't think they'd go to the trouble. Stop being such a worry-wart and start having fun. I'm going to go look around."

"You're going to steal again, right?" asked Rolan, sighing.

"Hey, I'm a thief, that's the only way I make money." Said Nanashi, grinning slyly and walking away into the crowds. What he was really looking for though, was a certain young girl he had seen in a backyard…

-----------------------------

(Back at the cottage!)

"Ah, here it is!" said Dorothy happily, pulling out a guardian ÄRM from her dimension zipper. "Come out To--"

"Wait!" cried Aqua, before Dorothy could summon him. "Could you please, uh, summon him OUTSIDE? You see, I don't want you to put another hole in my roof, thanks…"

"Oh… Right."

(Outside)

"Come on out Toto!" said Dorothy once again. A large dog-like creature materialized before the two girls. Dorothy acted as if this was a normal, everyday experience. Aqua, on the other hand, stood and stared in shock at the large creature.

"Toto, you will be this girl's transportation source!" With that, Dorothy pointed to Aqua and said, "RIDE LIKE THE WIND, AQUA!"

"W-what?(!)" sputtered Aqua, scared. Toto became angry at this command.

"I am not a transportation source!" the dog yelled in a low gruff voice which sent shockwaves through the (luckily empty) village.

"Sheesh, everyone's a critic…" muttered Dorothy under her breath. Then louder, she said, "Fine, bring me a pumpkin or some other vegetable. Whatever."

Aqua suddenly remembered a seashell charm her mother gave her before she died. Aqua took it out and handed it hesitantly to Dorothy.

"I don't know what this is, but will it work?" asked Aqua.

Dorothy looked at the shell carefully and then smiled. "Well, what do you know, it's a guardian ÄRM! I can't summon it without knowing its name, though…"

"Well, mother always used to call it Akko-chan…"

"Here, you summon it then." Said Dorothy, handing it back to Aqua. "It's yours, so you might as well learn to summon it."

"A-alright…" said Aqua hesitantly. "C-come out, Akko-chan!"

With that, a bright light engulfed the charm, and it vaporized into thin air. At the same time, a loud crashing sound was heard as a large clam-like animal appeared right before Aqua's very eyes!

"Good job on your first summon, Aqua!" said Dorothy, clapping Aqua on the back.

"On no!" cried Aqua.

"What? What's wrong?" asked Dorothy, quite worried.

"That thing, it-it--"

"WHAT?"

"It left a huge hole in my backyard!" sobbed Aqua. "Step-mother will kill me!"

It was now Dorothy's turn to fall over (anime style!)

(A few minutes later…)

Dorothy had somehow hooked Akko-chan to Toto. And Akko-chan was now on wheels.

"There! That's your… carriage…" Dorothy said, sweatdropping at the sight. It wasn't exactly what you would call, "fancy."

"Ah, thank you so much!" said Aqua, getting into Akko-chan and sitting down. "You'll cover the hole, right?"

"…I'll do it later…" was what Dorothy said, although in her head, she thought, "Noooo, my magic!"

"Now wait here while I turn some rats into coaches…" continued Dorothy, looking around.

But suddenly, a small "buzz" of a nearby bee caused Toto to panic, and he ran away towards the castle, carrying poor Aqua with him!

"Dorothy! Help me!" cried Aqua, but it was too late. Toto was already miles away. Dorothy stared in both fear and shock.

"…Damn!" cried Dorothy, a sudden realization hitting her. "I forgot to tell her that my magic only works until midnight!"

**To Be Continued…**

**Additional Notes:**

"_As if they'd let you in… As if he'd dance with you…"_: These were taken from Anu's portion of the RP, so credit goes to her!

"_My name is Dorothy-chan!"_: Dorothy often refers to herself as Dorothy-chan.

_Magical Rou_: There are so many variations of his name, I don't know how it's officially spelled, so I'll just stick with this one listed in wikipedia…

"_No one will recognize you with the hat!"_: This is partly a reference to a quote another friend said when she was talking about Sailor Moon. She said something along the lines of, "…And no one recognizes who she (Sailor Moon) is just because of the tiara…" I thought it was funny, so I stuck the joke here.

_The whole Toto and Akko-chan becoming Aqua's carriage incident_: This was taken almost entirely from Anu's part, so credit goes to her again!

More of the characters from Team Mar will show up in the next chapter, I promise! And yes, the story gets much more crackier than this!


	3. Part 3: The Meeting

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Marchen Awakens Romance or any of the characters mentioned in this fic.

**Notes: **Here, the story starts to diverge slightly, but not by much. Arg, all the scene changes!

Well anyway, enjoy!

**Cinder-Aqua**

**Part 3: The Meeting**

Back with Aqua and Toto, Toto is still running at full speed when a bend in the road suddenly appears. The bend in the road jets out into the sea. As Toto makes a sharp turn, the cables holding him to Akko-chan snap, and Akko-chan and Aqua are thrown into the sea, while Toto runs on. Luckily for Aqua (and her dress), Akko-chan can float, and they are now floating in the sea only a few miles away from the Prince's castle.

"Phew, that was close…" Aqua thought, relieved. That was when she heard a voice nearby.

"Uh, hello?"

Aqua looked down, surprised. There was a teenage girl, slightly older than her, in the water. She had orange and yellow hair and orange gradient eyes. She was also wearing an orange bikini top, but the lower half of her body was hidden by the sea.

"Ah, isn't it a bit cold to go swimming?" asked Aqua. "It is already—(Here, Aqua looked at the large clock tower that was set up in the midst of the village)—seven.

"Ah, well you see…" the girl answered, and then slowly lifted the rest of her body onto Akko-chan. Where her legs should be, there were fins! Aqua gasped.

"You're a mermaid!"

"Yes," said the mermaid. "And my name is Gido. I'm sorry to have surprised you like that, but I need your help. At the ball, there is a fisherman attending whom I have fallen in love with. His name is Ian. I would very much like to meet him in person, even if it is just for one night."

"Oh, how romantic!" cried Aqua, clasping her hands together. "But how will you go to the ball with fins?"

"I've got it covered."

Gido held out a blue, tear-shaped pendant for Aqua to see. She muttered some words under her breath, and when she was done, a bright light engulfed her whole body. Her fins became legs and a lovely, flowing lilac dress appeared on her.

"Uwah! Pretty!" cried Aqua, impressed.

"Unfortunately, the pendant's magic only works for five hours at a time, so I'll have to be back in the sea by midnight."

"Okay! That's fine by me." Said Aqua, but then she realized something. "Oh! I don't have an invitation on me, and I doubt you do either… How will we ever get into the castle without an invite?"

"Do not worry." Answered Gido. "I know a back way where we can sneak in."

And so, the two floated on Akko-chan towards the lights of the castle.

-----------------------------

(Back at the Ball, Prince Galian is STILL bored!)

Prince Galian stifled a yawn. He had spent the last few hours dancing, but it still hadn't been very exciting for him.

"So…found any girl to be your wife?" asked Rou, appearing next to Galian's side.

"No. Stop asking me that."

"You know, this party would be more fun if we had some techno music…"

"Techno music hasn't been invented yet."

"Aww…."

(On the other side of the ballroom…)

Nanashi was stealing stuff and Rolan was objecting. What else is new?

"If I can't find the girl, at least I can still make lots of cash with these!" Nanashi thought, as he expertly stole a diamond necklace from one of the ladies without her noticing.

"N-Nanashi-san!"

"Shut up, Rolan!"

Typical…

-----------------------------

(Back with Aqua and Gido):

Akko-chan docked gently at the cliff which the Prince's castle was rested on. Luckily for both Aqua and Gido, there were stairs etched into the side of the cliff, leading to the castle. They both climbed it, and sneaked into the castle discreetly through a back entrance.

"Well, I'll have to part from you here." Said Gido, walking away. "Please be careful."

"You too! And good luck!" said Aqua, starting to mingle in with the crowd.

A short distance away…

Rapunzel, Giromu, and Loco were staring in shock at the newcomer.

"Sis, sis! Who's that girl?" asked Giromu, pointing quite rudely at Aqua. Rapunzel glared at the girl.

"Eh? She's ugly compared to me!" screeched Rapunzel, scaring some of the kids nearby.

"Hmm, she kind of looks like stupid Cinder-Aqua, but the shell hat leaves me in confusion!" said Giromu, also glaring at the girl.

"What, are you all born idiots?" Loco resisted saying. If she did, it might give away Aqua's cover.

Another short distance away…

"Nanashi-san, who's that girl?" asked Rolan, tugging on Nanashi's sleeve.

"What?" asked Nanashi in annoyance, as he had just missed his chance to nab a rather pricey hairpiece. But when he saw Aqua, his face brightened. "Hey, that's the girl I was looking fo—oof!"

Nanashi had just been shoved out of the way by an angry Rapunzel, who was making her way towards the Prince, probably afraid that the new girl would steal him first, or something. Magical Rou and Edward were standing by Galian's side.

"Prince Galian, I LOVE YOU!" cried Rapunzel, rushing forward to hug Galian.

"…?(!)" went Galian.

"Who…?" went Rou.

"It's that mean, scary lady!" went Ed.

"Sis…ter…?" went Giromu.

"…WTF?" went Loco.

"She said a bad word!" went some random kid.

Er, anyway…

However, before Rapunzel even had a chance to hug Galian, he said, in a very calm and royal manner…

"Guards, arrest her!"

Many large guards appeared out of nowhere, surrounding Rapunzel. They quickly held her and dragged her away to the dungeons.

"What?(!)" sputtered Rapunzel, as she was dragged away. "NOOO! I'M THE BEST! I'M PRETTY! VERY PRETTY!"

And so, the evil step-mother Rapunzel was dragged away by armed guards while her brother Giromu tried helplessly to save her. But who cares about them, let's get back with the real story!

"Okay, now THAT was scary…" said Prince Galian, clutching his chest as if he almost had a heart-attack.

"Damn right." Went Rou.

"Hey, who's that girl?" asked Ed, nodding towards Aqua. "She looks familiar somehow, but I just can't put my thumb on it…" 

"Why don't you ask her to dance?" asked Magical Rou, smiling.

"Huh, oh, I think someone wants to dance with her first." Said Galian, nodding towards a man with blonde hair.

"Hey, that guy looks kind of like you, your highness!" put in Ed. "How about we put on some techno music?"

"Hasn't been invented yet." Answered Galian, quite annoyed.

"D'aww…" went Edward.

A few feet away, Nanashi is making his way towards Aqua.

"I'm going to ask her to dance!" said he.

"Oh, so THAT's what you were planning to do all along!" giggled Rolan, finally realizing the truth. Nanashi turned a bright red.

"Shut up, Rolan…"

A little bit farther away, Loco confronted Aqua, who was looking for the Prince.

"I'm amazed you were actually able to make it." Said Loco to Aqua. Aqua was shocked.

"Ah, Loco!" said Aqua. "You actually recognized me?"

"Of course I do. I'm your sister after all. Well, adopted sister…" Loco added quickly.

"Where are Step-Mother and Step-Brother?" asked Aqua, looking around in worry.

"Don't worry, they've been arrested and thrown in jail."

"Yay! I mean—aw…too bad…" said Aqua, trying to hide a smile.

"…You're real good at hiding your emotions." Said Loco sarcastically. "Well, anyway, how did you get your dress? And how did you get here?"

"Ah, well, it's a long story…" But Aqua was suddenly interrupted by a male voice.

"Er, may I have this dance?" asked Nanashi, hesitantly. Rolan was behind him, urging him on. Aqua blushed; she had found her prince—or rather, what she THOUGHT was the prince…

"Er, I'd love to…" said she, stealing a glance at Loco.

"That's fine, go ahead; you deserve to have some fun." Said Loco, walking away. "I'll see you at home later, then."

And so, Aqua and Nanashi began dancing, as Loco made her way towards the buffet table.

-----------------------------

(Meanwhile, back at Aqua's cottage, Dorothy is quickly forming a search party!)

Dorothy stood in front of four ordinary objects: A pink teacup, an old teddy-bear, a flower pot complete with dirt and a single flower, and a small table lamp.

"I hope Aqua doesn't mind me borrowing these things for tonight…" thought Dorothy, aloud. She then started chanting a spell. "Hum dum la dee da HYAH!"

Another wave of the broom. Clouds filled the room, surrounding the four objects. Then suddenly, they glowed and transformed. The teacup turned into a young girl with black hair; the teddy-bear turned into a young boy with blonde hair; the flowerpot turned into another young boy with black hair; and finally, the lamp turned into and older looking boy with dark blue hair.

"Yay! We can move now!" said the young blond-hair boy who also had bright blue eyes. He was wearing a black shirt and baggy khaki pants. "Isn't that great, Snow, Jack, Alviss!"

"Right that, Ginta!" said the black-haired girl, who had big brown eyes. She was wearing a pink jacket with red shorts and had a large pink bow on top of her head.

"Yay!" put in the black haired boy, who had a monkey face and was wearing a green sleeveless shirt with orange pants.

"…" went the older boy, who looked on with light blue eyes. He had on a white, long-sleeved shirt and black pants.

Dorothy stared in stunned silence.

"Wait…" she began. "You guys had NAMES? I thought that inanimate objects didn't have any other name than what they were…"

"Oh, you didn't know?" piped up Snow.

"Giromu had this really weird obsession with naming anything he could find!" put in Jack.

"He named a rock 'Miara' once…" muttered Alviss.

"He got eaten by a dog…" finished Ginta, sadly.

"…That doesn't even make sense!" half-yelled, half-screamed Dorothy. "How the heck are you supposed to tell what gender an inanimate object is, anyway?"

"I dunno." Said Jack.

"Me neither." Said Snow.

"…" went Alviss.

"…Hey, do you want to know what he named the toilet?" asked Ginta, WAY too happily.

"NEVERMIND." Said Dorothy angrily. "Anyway, your job is to find Aqua and bring her back before midnight! You do know who Aqua is, right?"

"Of course," put in Alviss. "We may have been inanimate objects, but we're not blind.

"Or deaf!" put in Jack.

"Or dumb!" put in Snow.

"The only thing we can't do is speak!" put in Ginta.

"Alright, ALRIGHT!" cried Dorothy, putting her hands up as a signal for them to stop talking. "I get it… Geez, you guys don't ALL have to talk right after one another… Anyway, I would have asked Crazy Kilt to go, but she'd make everyone go crazy with her singing…"

With this, Dorothy took out another guardian ÄRM and summoned Flying Leo.

"You're not coming with us?" asked Snow, as she and the others piled onto Flying Leo.

"I have to stay here and clean so that nothing looks suspicious when Aqua's step-mother comes back." Said Dorothy, sighing. "I also have to fix that roof, and fill in that hole in the backyard too…"

"But…" started Ginta. "Wouldn't it be suspicious for a teacup, flowerpot, teddy-bear, and lamp to just spontaneously disappear?"

"No, because you won't be gone! The magic will wear off at midnight!"

"WHAT?(!)" went all of the formerly-inanimate-objects—except Alviss.

"Hey, I don't have enough magic in me to keep you human forever!" stated Dorothy, angrily. "And the same thing will happen to Aqua at midnight, so please warn her!"

"Alright, let's go!" announced Ginta, enthusiastically.

"Yay!" went everyone (except Alviss.)

And thus, our brave band of adventurers (who were formerly inanimate objects) went off to find our dear heroine Aqua. Godspeed, young adventurers!

**To Be Continued…**

**Additional Notes:**

"_Techno music hasn't been invented yet."_: This whole in-joke was started by Anu.

_Rapunzel and Giromu seeing Aqua for the first time_: This was from Anu's part also.

_WTF_: If you don't know what this means, then you obviously haven't been spending enough time on the internet. But for those who don't know, it means, "What the f---"

"_Prince Galian, I LOVE YOU!"_: Yeah… real OCC… And no, I don't support Galian x Rapunzel.

"_NOOO! I'M THE BEST! I'M PRETTY! VERY PRETTY!"_: This quote was taken from a bonus chapter from vol. 7 of the Violinist of Hameln manga. The bonus chapter was also a parody of Cinderella, so I used the quote here as tribute to it.

_Aqua and Loco's confrontation_: Some parts taken from Anu's portion of the RP.

"_He got eaten by a dog…"_: It's a MAR in-joke. Because Maira got eaten by Toto in the second round of the second war-games. Wonder if anyone got that the first time…

"_The magic will wear off at midnight!"_: Idea thought up by Anu once again. Credit goes to her.

Be glad that I'm even posting new chapters up so quickly. I have another fanfic chapter that I'm supposed to be working on that's WAY overdue. ((sweatdrops)) The next one might take a bit longer to post up because it's much longer, and I have a few appointments coming up. Senior pictures, eww…


	4. Part 4: The Rescue

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Marchen Awakens Romance or any of the characters mentioned in this fic.

**Notes: **Um, I forgot to say in the last chapter, but I also support Ian x Gido, and this pairing will appear in the fanfic. For the person whom I said that there would be no other parings, well, I'm really sorry. This one just seemed to have slipped my mind… Sorry!

As amazing as it may seem, yes, this fanfic does get stranger! And once again, please do not take this story too seriously. I poke fun at nearly every character in this fic, but I have much love for them all! (Well, except for Rapunzel and Giromu, but that's pretty much a given…)

Oh, and sorry for the long break, my writer's block chose the worst possible time to show up. ((Stabs writer's block with a pencil)) Super long chapter this time! Enjoy!

**Cinder-Aqua**

**Part 4: The Rescue**

The clocktower strikes nine, as more events begin to unfold…

Ginta and co., the formerly inanimate-objects-turned human, have finally reached the Prince's castle and have landed on the roof. They are currently looking through the windows searching for Aqua.

"Hey, do you think that's her?" asked Ginta, pointing to a blue-haired girl with a yellow sea-shell hat.

"Well, she looks exactly like Aqua when she left the house." Replied Alviss sarcastically. "There's just that chance she might be Aqua!"

"I just wanted to make sure, Captain Sarcasm…" said Ginta, a bit hurt. Alviss just gave out a long sigh of exasperation.

"Oh, she's dancing with the Prince! How romantic!" squeed Snow.

"Are you even sure that's the Prince?" asked Alviss, skeptical, but he was interrupted by Jack's outburst.

"Great! Now we just have to separate them so we can warn Aqua!"

"You say that like you're going to do something evil!" cried Snow.

"Nonsense, we're just going to set off a distraction!" put in Jack.

"Like what?" asked Ginta.

"You'll see…" said Jack, grinning evilly.

-----------------------------

Meanwhile!

Loco is at the buffet table, where Moku and Chapu are serving food and drinks. Loco had just grabbed a glass of wine and was about to drink it, but Chapu noticed first.

"H-hey! You aren't old enough to be drinking alcohol!" cried Chapu. Loco just gave her a cold glare.

"I'll have you know, Loco is old enough to be your mother." Said Loco. She then drained the glass before Chapu could say anything else.

"O…kay…"

On the other side of the ballroom, Gido had found Ian, and they were now dancing together.

And not far from them, Edward and Rolan have met up, and are chatting amiably. Their subject is none other than Aqua and Nanashi.

"Ah, young love is so sweet…" said Edward.

"Er, actually…" stammered Rolan. "Nanashi's actually around 24…"

"…" went Ed, sweatdropping.

Farther away, the aforementioned Aqua and Nanashi have stopped dancing, and were now sitting on a bench in the castle's balcony. Next to the bench are many potted plants with small flowers twinkling softly in the moonlight. Aqua and Nanashi are looking at the sea and the stars.

"It's such a beautiful night…" started Aqua. "I wish it could last forever…"

"Yeah, me too." Replied Nanashi, who was leaning over the balcony, his back towards Aqua.

Suddenly, a scream is heard. It belonged to Aqua. Nanashi turned around quickly, and stared in shock at what he saw. The potted plants have grown at a monstrous rate, and have entangled Aqua in their vines! They keep growing taller and taller, taking Aqua higher and higher…

"Save me!" cried Aqua, struggling to free herself. Nanashi looked around frantically for anything to cut the vines with. That was when he noticed a sword hanging on a back wall. Unfortunately, it is quite a distance away.

"I'll save you!" Nanashi shouted, as he ran towards the sword, leaving Aqua alone for the moment.

Aqua was brought higher and higher until she finally reached the roof, where the vines finally release her. As she gets dropped onto the roof, she hears a voice…

"Hi, Aqua!" said Ginta to a very surprised Aqua.

"W-who are you?(!)" cried Aqua, bewildered. "And how do you know my name?(!)"

"Do you remember me? I'm Giromu's stuffed teddy bear!" exclaimed Ginta, pointing to himself. Aqua just continued staring in shock.

"Heh, heh; my plan to separate Aqua and the Prince worked!" exclaimed Jack, laughing evilly.

"You IDIOT!" cried Snow, whacking Jack over the head with a piece of plywood from the castle roof. "How could you? They were being all romantic too! It looked like they were going to kiss!"

"K-kiss?(!)" stammered Aqua, blushing deeply at the thought.

"Anyway, since you DIMWITS are too preoccupied with such petty matters…" started Alviss, which elicited shouts of "Hey!" from the other formerly-inanimate-objects.

"…We came to warn you…" continued Alviss, ignoring the glares from his other teammates. "We came to warn you, Lady Aqua, that Dorothy's magic expires at midnight. Therefore, you must return home by then."

"Ah, okay…" said Aqua, still not quite getting the full gist of it. "Well, uh, thanks, I guess… I should be getting back down now…" With this, Aqua slowly started making her way down the vines. Ginta and co. looked on until she was out of sight.

"Wait," started Jack, turning to Alviss after a moment's silence. "What's with the whole, LADY Aqua deal, huh Alviss?"

Alviss shrugged, and then said simply, "Well, she cleans me everyday. I should at least show a little appreciation."

Another silence. Then…

"…That sounded SO wrong…" said Jack, who was immediately whacked by Snow afterwards with the same piece of plywood.

"EW, Jack!" cried Snow, brandishing the piece of wood like it was a club. "You have a dirty mind! Pervert! (whack) Ecchi! (whack) Hentai! (whack) Leech! (whack, whack, whack.)"

"Oooo, I sense a bit of a crush…" said Ginta, grinning at Alviss.

"…Say that again and I'll drop kick you off this roof." Replied Alviss, a vein popping in his forehead.

Back on the balcony, Aqua was climbing down, just as Nanashi arrived charging with the sword upheld in his hand.

"DIE EVIL PLANT!" he shouted, but when he saw Aqua safe and sound, he stopped and put the sword down and stared open-mouthed in silent shock. After awhile, he finally said, "You got down by yourself? Are you alright?"

"Y-yeah, I'm alright." Said Aqua, blushing.

"Er… So what happened?"

"Well… Oh, cake!" cried Aqua, spying a large cake at a nearby table. She ran to it, hoping to change the subject.

"…" went Nanashi, still a bit dazed from the whole incident. He then looked down at the sword, which had a gold handle and was covered with jewels. "Hey! I can sell this for a lot of money!"

-----------------------------

(As this is going on, another incident seems to be happening in the castle dungeons…)

"AUGH!" screeched Rapunzel angrily, scaring some of the nearby guards. "How dare they lock me up in some dark, filthy dungeon? Of all people… I don't deserve this!"

"Um, well, sister…" started Giromu nervously, trying to calm Rapunzel. "If it gives you any consolation, I was locked up too… Don't worry; I'm sure they'll let us out soon!"

"Hey, maybe I can drill through the bars with my hair!"

"…Well, it's worth a shot, sister! Let's do it!"

-----------------------------

Ding, dong! The village clocktower strikes ten. From the doorstep of Aqua's cottage where Dorothy is sweeping, Dorothy looks up in worry.

"I hope Aqua will be alright…" said Dorothy, staring at the clock.

"Hey, why do I have to fix the roof?" This was said by a voice coming from above. Dorothy looked up to see a rag doll staring down at her.

"Well, someone has to fix the roof, Crazy Kilt." Answered Dorothy, glaring at the doll. "I have to finish Aqua's chores."

"Can't you just use your magic? That'd be easier…"

"If I HAD enough magic, I would use it; but since my magic is limited, I have to save it for times when I REALLY need it. Now quite whining and WORK!"

Suddenly, there is a loud panting sound behind Dorothy. Dorothy turned around to see…

"Toto!" cried Dorothy, going over to the large dog. "Where have you been?(!)" she demanded.

"I was running away from a bee…" said Toto, embarrassed. Dorothy lost her temper at this statement.

"A BEE?(!)" she shouted, making Toto cower. "A little bee?(!) And you dragged Aqua away just because of that?"

"Er, I'm allergic to bees…"

Dorothy did a facepalm.

"Anyway, where's Akko-chan? Wasn't it supposed to be hooked up to you?"

"Uh, I think the ropes ripped as I was running around a bend in the road…"

"WHAT?(!)"

(A few minutes later, after some more explaining from Toto, and more outbursts from Dorothy…)

"Don't worry!" put in Toto. "I'm sure Aqua got to the ball fine!"

"She'd better," started Dorothy, giving Toto a slap; "Or else—no more doggie treats for you, mister!"

Toto whimpered.

"Well, anyway…" said Dorothy, regaining her composure. "I need you to fill in that hole in the backyard. I don't care how you do it, just fix so it looks like there was never a hole in the first place."

"But…" whimpered Toto, but Dorothy wasn't listening.

"FILL. HOLE. NOW." She said, putting an emphasis on each word.

"But…"

"NOW!"

"Yes, ma'm…"

-----------------------------

(Back on the roof of the Prince's castle, Ginta and co. are sitting around—bored.)

"I'm bored!" cried Ginta, stating the obvious. He was lying on his back.

"Should we get back to Dorothy?" asked Snow, sitting cross-legged.

"I think it's best that we just stayed here…" put in Alviss, who was leaning on a castle tower.

"I know, we should play DDR!" said Jack, jumping up from his seat near the edge of the roof.

"DDR hasn't been invented yet." Stated Alviss flatly. "And before you ask, Techno music hasn't been invented yet either."

"Aww…" went the three other members.

"Gee, Alviss, you're no fun…" said Ginta.

"…" went Alviss.

"That's just like you not to say anything." Put in Jack, angrily. "You're just waiting 'till midnight so Aqua'll wash you again, Lamp Boy!"

Alviss shot a death glare at Jack, as he calmly said, "Please terminate the action of speaking." With that, he whacked Jack with Snow's piece of plywood.

"Umm, hey!" started Snow, trying to change the subject because she didn't want a big fight to ensue. "Look, there's Akko-chan!" She pointed towards the sea. And sure enough, she was right. The giant clam was floating in the water.

"Let's get her ready to make an emergency exit, just in case."

"Wait…" said Alviss; "How do you even know that it's a girl?"

"Female intuition!" replied Snow, smiling.

"Okay…"

"I'll round up Flying Leo then…" said Jack.

Suddenly, there was loud crash.

"Look guys!" shouted Ginta, appearing from a pile of rubble. He was holding a small brown chest. "I found some treasure!"

-----------------------------

Back inside the castle, the orchestra had picked up again, and once more the dance floor is flooded with people.

Meanwhile, Galian, the real Prince, is sitting on his throne, bored. Again. His two servents, Magical Rou and Edward, are standing by his side.

"Let this stupid party END already…" said he.

"Forgive me for being rude…" started Magical Rou hesitantly. "But weren't you the one who wanted to have this party in the first place?"

"…Shut up, Rou."

"Hey, that girl looks like she has finished dancing with the blond-haired guy!" said Ed, pointing to Aqua, who was sitting in the corner, eating a small slice of cake. "Why don't you ask her to dance?"

"Well, alright…" agreed Galian, reluctantly. "But only because I'm bored out of my mind."

With that, Galian made his way towards Aqua.

"May I have this dance?" he asked. Aqua was so surprised, she nearly dropped her cake.

"Oh, um sure, I guess…" she said hesitantly, noticing that Nanashi; who still held the sword; was busy talking to Rolan.

With that, she and Galian began dancing.

"Hey, it looks like someone's stealing your girl…" said Rolan, noticing that Aqua was dancing with someone else.

"WHAT?" cried Nanashi, looking up, and seeing that what Rolan said was true. "Well, I'm not worried. I'll ask her to dance with me for the last song."

"Did you get her name?" asked Rolan, leaning forward expectantly.

"No, I didn't." replied Nanashi, shoving the jeweled sword into a bag filled with other goods he had stolen that night.

"What?(!)" cried Rolan. "You've danced with her nearly all night and yet you still haven't asked her her name?"

"You make it sound like a bad thing." Scowled Nanashi. "I haven't even given her MY name yet."

"Gee, what's wrong with you tonight?" giggled Rolan. "You're usually so straight-forward when it comes to girls…"

"Oh hush up, Rolan."

-----------------------------

(Outside the castle):

Ginta and co. have just finished hooking Akko-chan up to Flying Leo.

"Alright," started Alviss; "Now that we have Akko-chan and Flying Leo rounded up, what do we do now?"

"Warn Aqua that she only has one hour left?" suggested Jack.

"What?" said Ginta. "But it's only 10:59… (Clock strikes eleven times) …11:00.

"Oh no!" cried Snow. "That means there's only one hour left for them to kiss!"

"…Why are you so obsessed with them kissing?" asked Jack.

"Because it would be so romantic…" replied Snow, her eyes sparkling.

"…Women…" muttered Jack under his breath.

"Anyway, what are we going to do now?" asked Ginta.

"I guess we'll just hang out here until almost-midnight so we can rush Aqua out before the spell wears off…" said Jack.

"I swear, that's the smartest thing you've said all night." Said Alviss, somewhat sarcastically.

"Shut up, Lamp Boy!"

-----------------------------

Inside the castle, things slowly start getting worse…

"So, what is your name?" asked Ian to Gido as they finish dancing for the night.

"It's Gido. I know your name though, Ian.

"Ah, am I really that popular?" Ian asks, laughing.

"At least to me you are…" replies Gido, blushing.

"You know, it's funny. I seem to remember seeing you while I was fishing…"

Gido is surprised by this.

"Um, well…" she stammers, but then she sees the clocktower in the distance. It is 11:30 already.

"Now that I think of it, I have met you before!" said Ian, coming to a sudden realization. "You're that girl in the sea--"

Before he can finish, however, Gido is off and running.

"I'm sorry, I have to go now!" said Gido, not even turning around to give Ian one last glance.

In the distance, Aqua and Prince Galian are still dancing.

"He's a very pleasant fellow." Thought Aqua. "And he looks so much like the Prince too…"

"You know," started Galian; "I've never seen you at any of the other parties before. Are you some kind of princess from a far away land?"

"Oh, I wouldn't say that…" said Aqua, giggling nervously. Truth be told, she would much rather be dancing with the blonde-haired man that she danced with for most of the night.

"Isn't the Prince such a wonderful person?" asked Aqua to Galian. "And he's such a wonderful dancer too!" Galian gave her a confused look.

"…What are you talking about?"

"Haven't you met the Prince yet? He's a really nice person. You should really talk to him!"

"But…" started Galian. "I'M the Prince."

"What?" said Aqua, backing away from Galian slowly. "T-then who… Then that man I was dancing with… Was not the real Prince?"

Galian shook his head sadly.

"I'm afraid you are mistaken, young lady."

Aqua stood still on the spot, as if in a trance. Then a voice brought her hurtling back to reality.

"Aqua!" shouted Gido, who had finally caught up with her. "We have to leave—now!"

Aqua turned quickly to look at the clocktower. Precious minutes were fast ticking away.

"I'm sorry, your highness;" muttered Aqua quickly. "I'm sorry that I had mistaken someone else for you, but I really must go now. Thank you for dancing with me."

With that, she and Gido quickly ran towards the exit of the castle, but they were stopped by a blonde-haired man…

"What's wrong?" asked Nanashi, who had rushed over when he saw that something was wrong. His face was full of worry. "What happened?"

"I'm sorry…" started Aqua, her eyes filling with tears. "I had a lovely night dancing with you. I hope someday that we will be able to meet again… My prince…" With that, she ran blindly towards the exit.

"Wait, you didn't tell me your name yet!" cried Nanashi, heartbroken.

"Aqua!" cried Gido, having to run at full speed just to catch up with her again.

"…Aqua? Her name is…Aqua…?" mumbled Nanashi, as Gido ran towards Aqua.

Unfortunately, the two girls did not get far in their run when suddenly, a wall near them breaks, and out pops none other than Rapunzel herself! There are screams heard from many the party guests. People start panicking and the party is thrown into a state of chaos. Giromu appears out of the hole in the wall next to Rapunzel as she grabs Aqua by the collar, nearly choking her.

"I don't know who you are, girlie, but you ruined my chance with the Prince!" screeched Rapunzel, holding Aqua like she was a mere toy.

"Let her go!" shouted Gido, stamping her foot down on the ground.

"This is absurd!"

Another voice is heard. It belongs to Loco, who is running up to the scene.

"She came to the party right when you were sent to jail!" shouted Loco, above all the commotion. "She had no doing in your demise!"

"…You have a pretty advanced vocabulary for a ten year old." Said Giromu, which only elicited an angry glare from Loco.

-----------------------------

(Outside, Ginta and co. are back on the roof again.)

"Hey, did you hear a crashing sound?" asked Ginta to the other three members, as a loud sound resounded from inside the castle. All four looked up in surprise.

"Yeah, it sounded pretty bad…" said Alviss.

"I wonder what happened?" asked Snow.

"Should we go check it out?" suggested Jack.

Ginta took a glance at the clocktower, and then said:

"Yup, that's our cue!"

-----------------------------

Back inside the castle, Gido and Loco look on helplessly as Aqua was held up in the air by an angry Rapunzel.

"Oh no, I only have 15 minutes left…" said Gido, glancing at the clocktower.

"Let her go." Demanded Loco. She didn't care if that simple sentence would get her punished—Aqua would be killed if Rapunzel found out.

"Heed my words, girlie…" said Rapunzel to Aqua, who was struggling to get out of Rapunzel's steel-hard grip. "You WILL pay!"

"Hold it right there!"

A voice sounded from the ceiling.

"Let her go, you hag!" said yet another voice.

"Huh? Who said that?" cried Giromu, looking up. There were two figures standing on the crossbars of the ceiling, but the lights were too bright for him to make out who it was.

"HIYAH!" yelled Ginta and Jack, as they jumped down from the ceiling—and immediately landed in a painful heap with a loud, "CRASH!"

"Eh?(!)" went Aqua, surprised. Luckily, Rapunzel and Giromu were also quite stunned at this action.

"OW, OW, OW…." Went Ginta, rubbing a large bump that had appeared on his head. "That. Wasn't. Smart."

"It was YOUR idea!" cried Jack, picking himself painfully off of the ground.

Alviss and Snow appeared suddenly behind the two.

"Hey!" started Ginta angrily. "Why aren't you guys on the ground, writhing in pain?"

"Well…" started Snow, sweatdropping.

"We took the stairs." Finished Alviss, matter-of-factly. "Idiots."

(Ba-dum PSSH!)

"Well, anyway…" began Ginta, quickly regaining his composure; "We attack the enemy! RAWR!" He ran up and kicked Giromu in the shins.

"Ouch, hey!" cried Giromu, rubbing his shins.

"Uh, Ginta?

"Hmm? What is it, Snow?"

"There's an easier way of taking out these guys." Said Snow. "Remember that scary Kendema you found in that treasure chest?"

"Oh yeah, Babbo!" exclaimed Ginta. "I almost forgot about him!" With that, Ginta took out a large, metal-looking Kendema from a pack behind his back.

"That is no way to carry a gentleman!" cried Babbo, quite angry at being shoved into a small, dark backpack.

"ATTACK, BABBO!" shouted Ginta, throwing Babbo's head towards Giromu, but it fell short, due to the chain and hammer that Babbo was attached to.

"What the heck is THAT?" cried Giromu, bending down to poke Babbo.

"Rargh!" went Babbo, biting down on Giromu's finger.

"ARG!"

"Brother!" cried Rapunzel, and in that instant of shock, she dropped Aqua, who fell to the floor, and was immediately dragged out of Rapunzel's reach by Gido and Loco. Rapunzel gave out a window-shattering roar when she found out that she had lost hold of her prey.

"Uwah, Rapunzel is scary…" said Snow.

"WOMEN are scary…" put in Jack, who was immediately whacked afterwards by Snow with her trusty piece of plywood.

"We don't have time to spare!" cried Gido, who was steadying Aqua on her feet. "We must leave, NOW!"

"You guys go ahead first." Said Alviss calmly. "I'll take care of things here and catch up with you later."

"But Alviss!" cried Snow.

"Just go! I'll be fine."

With that, Aqua's trusty envoys whisk her outside, but they were in such a rush that one of her slippers fell off.

Alviss sighed as he reached into his pocket.

"I guess I'll always have to finish everything myself…" He said, holding up a large metal chain with faces carved into it. "Thirteen Totem Pole!"

With that, thirteen totem poles sprung up out of the ground, forming a barrier between him and Rapunzel and Giromu. Alviss took this time to catch up with the others.

"Arg, we let them get away!" screeched Rapunzel, as the totem poles receded back into the ground. "I'm so mad—I could KILL SOMETHING!"

"S-sister! Please calm down!" cried Giromu, trying to pacify her. "Don't worry sis, when we get home, we can torture Aqua some more!"

"…Great idea, my sweet little brother!"

A few feet away, Loco is making her escape, hoping that Rapunzel and Giromu have forgotten about her.

"There is a god out there…" she said, happily, silently walking away.

"Come, Loco!" shouted Rapunzel, grabbing Loco by the collar.

"…And that god must hate me…" finished Loco bitterly, as Rapunzel and Giromu, dragging her along; escape through a broken wall into the night.

Prince Galian ran up to the hole with guards behind him.

"Damn!" he cried. "We let them escape!"

"Your highness!" exclaimed Edward, running up to Galian. "I found this slipper by one of the exits!"

-----------------------------

Meanwhile, Aqua is safely inside Akko-chan, with Snow and Babbo by her side. Ginta is on top of Flying Leo, and Alviss and Jack are on top of Akko-chan.

"I had a great night." Said Gido to Aqua. "I hope we'll meet again someday."

"Goodbye, Gido." Said Aqua.

"Goodbye, Aqua."

With that, Gido jumps into the sea, turning back into a mermaid and swimming away. At this, Ginta starts the carriage, and they are soon on their way home.

"So…" started Aqua; "So you guys are actually household items turned human?"

"Yup." Said Snow, nodding sadly. "And we'll turn back at midnight once the spell wears off..."

"Oh, that's awful!" cried Aqua. "I've only just met you all, too! I think you guys are the only other friends I have, other than Loco…"

While this is happening, there is a totally different conversation going on with the boys…

"For the LAST time…" muttered Alviss, angrily. "I am NOT in love with Aqua! I only see her as a caretaker!"

"Heh, yeah right, Lover-boy!" taunted Ginta.

"Lover-boy? Lover-boy?(!)" exclaimed Alviss angrily. "Why am I the only one getting picked on?"

"Because you're fun to pick on…?" replied Ginta.

"Well TWO can play that game!" shouted Alviss.

He turned to Ginta. "Teddy-boy!" Then he turned to Jack. "Flower-boy!"

"Teddy… boy…?" said Ginta quizzically.

"Flower boy?(!)" exploded Jack angrily.

"…So, you're not in love with Aqua?" asked Ginta to Alviss.

"Of course not!" responded Alviss.

"Denial's ALWAYS the first step…" said Jack, loud enough for only Alviss to hear. Alviss made an angry face.

"…?" went Ginta, who from his position on Flying Leo, had not heard.

"This means WAR..." muttered Alviss.

-----------------------------

Back at Aqua's cottage, Dorothy and Crazy Kilt had just finished cleaning everything up.

"Alright," started Dorothy, looking at a list. "Chores done? Check. Hole in the roof fixed? Check. Hole in the ground?"

Dorothy looked out into the backyard, where Toto was stamping down some new dirt.

"Wow, where'd you get all that dirt from?" asked Dorothy.

"Er…" started Toto.

Far away…

And old man with a small tree growing on the top of his head steps out of his hut and sees a HUGE hole in his front yard.

"What the heck?" cried the old man angrily. "Darn kids stealing my land!"

Back at Aqua's cottage…

"Uh…" went Toto.

"Ugh, nevermind…" muttered Dorothy, looking down at her list. "Getting Aqua home in time?"

"Check!" This was said by Ginta, who was steering Flying Leo up to the entrance of Aqua's cottage, with Akko-chan and the others safely on her.

"Aqua! You're back!" exclaimed Dorothy, who was both happy and relieved at the same time. "And with five minutes to spare too!" Dorothy looked Aqua up and down, then stopped at her feet.

"One shoe's missing!" she cried angrily. "What happened to it?" The formerly-inanimate-objects looked at each other guiltily.

"Uh, I think we lost it when we were rushing Aqua out of the castle…" said Jack. Dorothy seemed ticked off, but she was able to calm herself down.

"Well, at least you got back here alive…" she said, making the dress disappear, with Aqua's old rags appearing on her once again. Dorothy turned to Ginta and co., noticing Babbo.

"What the heck is that thing? Is that an ÄRM?"

"Yup!" said Ginta, thrusting Babbo up into Dorothy's face. "We found it, along with some other ÄRM!"

"…Other ÄRM?"

At this question, the other three held up their newly acquired ÄRM.

"Where did you get these?" demanded Dorothy.

"We found them!" put in Snow.

"Yeah, they were in this chest on the roof!" added Jack.

Dorothy did another facepalm.

"My gods, I've created thieves!" she cried. "Ugh, anyway, where are you going to hide them? You can't keep them once you guys have turned back!"

"Well, Aqua definitely can't hide them." Stated Alviss. "They're much too noticeable. Especially Babbo…"

"Hey!" shouted Babbo, annoyed.

"Can't you keep them for us, please?" asked Snow, clasping her hands together and putting on her best "puppy-eyed" look.

"ARG! Fine!" shouted Dorothy, and then much lower, she muttered; "I'm too nice for my own good…" With that, she quickly gathered all of their ÄRM and shoved them into her dimension zipper. She also called back all the guardian ÄRM back into their original forms.

"Here, you keep hold of Akko-chan." Said Dorothy, shoving the shell-shaped charm into Aqua's hands. "Well, I'd love to stay and chat…" continued Dorothy sarcastically. "But I must be going. You inanimate objects better get back to your places, too." She quickly leapt onto her broom and flew off. Aqua and the others went inside the house, as Ginta and co. resumed their former positions, getting ready to turn back.

"Well, goodbye, Aqua!" said Ginta. "It was real fun being human."

"Yes, it was nice to finally meet you!" put in Snow. "Remember that you can always talk to us if you want!"

"See ya, Aqua!" said Jack, doing a thumbs-up.

"Thank you for caring for us." Said Alviss, calmly. "I hope you'll keep on caring for us…"

Then, there were twelve long booms from the village clocktower. Smoke filled the room. When it was gone, Aqua saw that the four had once again turned back to their original forms. There was a voice outside.

"Open up, Cinder-Aqua!" shouted Rapunzel. "We're home!"

-----------------------------

Back at the castle, the party was over. All the guests had gone, including two very depressed gentlemen. (Nanashi and Ian.) Galian was sitting on his thrown, looking over the slipper.

"Magical Rou! Edward!" He said, getting up.

"Yes, your highness?" they both said, bowing down.

"I want to hold another party, to find the owner of this shoe."

"Well…" started Rou, nervously.

"What is it?" asked Galian.

"…First, we have to fix that hole that the scary lady made…" He pointed to one side of the castle that was completely obliterated.

"Oh. Right."

**To Be Continued!**

**Additional Notes:**

_The incident in which Ginta and co. are looking for Aqua_: Yup, this idea was created by Anu.

"_I'm old enough to be your mother."_: Well, it's true… Loco's real age is around 32.

"_Oooo, I sense a bit of a crush…"_: No, I don't support Alviss x Aqua, either. I just find it fun to tease Alviss… Sorry Alviss.

"_Hey, maybe I can drill through the bars with my hair!"_: Idea thought up by Anu.

_Lamp Boy_: Anu was the one who started calling Alviss that, so the idea belongs to her too.

"_Please terminate the action of speaking."_: Quote by Anu.

"_How do you even know that it's a girl?"_: Actually, I don't know if Akko-chan is a girl or not. Yeah, I'm just making stuff up…

_The scene where Ginta and co. have hooked up Akko-chan to Flying Leo and are deciding what to do next_: Idea by Anu also!

_Ginta and co. facing off with Rapunzel and Giromu incident_: Taken almost entirely from Anu's part. I only tweaked it a little.

_The old guy with the tree growing on his head._: Yeah, that was a cameo by Vidar/Veezle/Weasel/WHATEVER his name is.


	5. Part 5: The Search

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Marchen Awakens Romance or any of the characters mentioned in this fic.

**Notes: **Bleh, sorry for a lack of updates, I've just had really bad days where I didn't feel like writing. I would rather wait until it passed than post up a badly written chapter on time.

**Cinder-Aqua**

**Part 5: The Search**

It had been five days since the ill-fated ball. For the towns-people, things have reverted back to normal—almost. Nanashi and Rolan were still making their living through thievery, Dorothy was still trying to complete one hundred deeds so that she could get home, and Rapunzel and Giromu were still bossing Aqua and Loco. However, there was one little change…

"How are you guys today?" asked Aqua cheerfully, to the lamp, teacup, flowerpot, and teddy bear. Although Alviss, Snow, Jack, and Ginta had been returned back to their original forms, Aqua found that she could still hear their voices in her head when she was near them, and therefore able to communicate with them. She didn't know why this occurred, but she guessed that it was because the four inanimate objects had an extremely close bond with her. However, she was the only one who could achieve this. When Aqua tried explaining it to Loco, Loco just gave her a puzzled look.

"_Good morning, Aqua!_" chimed the four—well, three—inanimate objects, who were none other than Ginta, Snow and Jack. Alviss the lamp chose to stay quiet.

"_We're doing fine!_" Aqua heard Jack say in her mind.

"_And how are you today, Aqua?_" asked Snow's voice.

"I'm doing just great!" responded Aqua out loud.

Nearby, Giromu had overheard. He shook his head sadly.

"Poor Cinder-Aqua," he said, without actually meaning it. "We must work her too hard. She's gone loony."

-----------------------------

"Darn!"

This was said by a familiar pink-haired witch. She was glaring at her wristband irritably. The numbers "53" shone brightly even in the sun. Dorothy let out a large groan.

"I've been in this stupid village nearly two weeks, and I'm only half-way there?(!)" screamed Dorothy. She ran her fingers through her hair angrily. "Darn it, this village is just too small! How can I do good deeds when no one needs any help?"

Not too far away, Nanashi and Rolan were sitting at an outdoor café, observing the scene for any chance of a robbery.

"Hey, Nanashi-san." Started Rolan, pointing to a group of people in the distance. "I wonder what's going on?"

"It's another ball being held in two days." Replied Nanashi, matter-of-factly. He had a letter held in his hand. Rolan did a double-take.

"Where'd you get that? Don't say that you stole it again!" cried Rolan, but Nanashi was too busy staring at the letter to notice. What it said was:

_The Prince will be holding another ball in two days. The Prince plans to find a suitable wife at this ball. To do so, he will use a slipper that a fair, yet mysterious, maiden left behind at the last ball. The new Queen will be made if anyone can fit their foot inside this dainty shoe, proving that they were the young lady that the Prince had his last dance with. However, the girl who fits the shoe must also bring the matching slipper, to confirm that she really is the one that lost it._

"Could that be…" muttered Nanashi to himself, as Rolan continued whining in the background. "Aqua?"

-----------------------------

"Are you sure this was a good idea?" asked Edward, to Magical Rou. They were currently inside the castle, making more letters to send out.

"Don't you think that the Prince will be mad at us when he finds out that we plotted this scheme behind his back?" continued Ed, nervously. "After all, all he wanted to do was return the shoe to its rightful owner—not make a proposal of marriage!"

"You worry too much, Ed." Said Rou calmly. "The Prince will surely THANK us for finding him a suitable wife after so many years."

"More like it'll be 'off with our heads!'" moaned Edward.

-----------------------------

"Oh, a ball! B-A-L-L!" screeched Rapunzel happily, waving a flimsy letter in the air with vigor. "Another ball is being held in two days!" said Rapunzel in a sing-song voice that sounded like nails on a chalkboard. Aqua and Loco resisted the urge to cringe at her voice, lest Rapunzel notice and spear them both with her hair.

"And…" continued Rapunzel, in a normal voice (much to the relief of both Aqua and Loco). "The Prince will finally be choosing a wife!"

"Didn't he say that LAST time?" asked Loco. "He said he would choose a wife at the LAST ball, but he ended up not choosing anybody…"

"That's just because of that stupid girl who had to show up at the last moment, just when I was about to make my move on him!"

"More like you nearly scared him to death, then demolished almost a third of his castle…" said Loco in her mind.

"Well, that's alright." Continued Rapunzel. "The Prince will be choosing his next wife by seeing who can fit their foot in a shoe! Imagine! Such an easy task!"

"Do you even know how big your feet is?" Was what Loco would have said had she wanted to be speared. But what she said instead was, "Aren't you forgetting the last line?" Loco held up the letter. "It says, 'The girl who fits the shoe must also bring the matching slipper, to confirm that she really is the one that lost it.'"

"Oh come on, ALL slippers look alike. I'll just get one from the shoe shop."

Loco rolled her eyes. Rapunzel was definitely lacking in the "smarts" department.

"Sister will be a queen!" cried Giromu happily. "Just what she deserves!"

This comment in itself was enough to make Loco slap him upside the head, but Aqua held her back.

"T-that's… great?" said Aqua, struggling to pull Loco as far from Giromu as she could. She had a sudden sick feeling in her stomach. She knew that the shoe belonged to her, but she didn't want to marry Prince Galian, no matter how charming he was. But still, she had to get the shoe back, knowing that Dorothy was expecting her to return it. The problem was how…

"Cinder-Aqua." Rapunzel's voice boomed as she drew herself up to full height.

"Y-yes ma'm?"

"When I am queen, I'll have no more need for you or Loco, so you two will have to fend for yourselves." She then let out a cackle, thinking that abandoning them was her most evil plan yet. Aqua and Loco, however, saw it as somewhat of a blessing. Who wouldn't want to get away from an evil hag like that?

"Giromu, let's go shopping. I'll need some new clothes for the upcoming ball."

"Yes, sister!" Giromu said, following Rapunzel out the door.

"Oh, and Cinder-Aqua and Loco?" said Rapunzel, turning hawk eyes on them.

"Yes?" Both answered.

"Finish the chores that I have assigned to you."

"Yes, ma'm…"

-----------------------------

Two days have passed, and yet another ball is starting. It is two in the afternoon, and once again, Aqua has to stay home, although this time Loco has to too. The reason? Even though there isn't the slightest chance that Loco would be the owner of the lost shoe, Rapunzel still wants her to stay home, because that would mean less competition for her.

"I can't believe step-mother actually thinks that I would be a threat to her 'Queendom'!" Said Loco, somewhat bemused. "Ugh, and she had the nerve to give us triple chores!"

Aqua let out a large sigh, causing Loco to look at her.

"That was your shoe, though, wasn't it?" asked Loco. Aqua nodded.

"Oh, what am I going to DO?" wailed Aqua. "I need to get that shoe back. I'm sure Dorothy is expecting it."

"Dorothy's your Fairy Godmother, right?" Loco asked, leaning on the broom that she had been sweeping with. Aqua had already told her about how she was able to get to the ball. "Well, since she has magic, couldn't you just make her make the shoe disappear, or something?"

Aqua fell silent for awhile, then she said, "You're right! Why didn't I think of that earlier?"

"Well, because **I** did…" Loco thought, sweatdropping.

"If only Dorothy-chan was a little easier to find…" thought Aqua aloud. "I haven't seen her since the night of the ball…"

Suddenly, there was a loud cracking and crashing noise as Dorothy, once again, fell through the roof of Aqua's cottage, landing right in front of Aqua and Loco, broom and all.

"…Are her entrances always this…exciting?" asked Loco, realizing that this pink-haired woman was the same Fairy Godmother that Aqua had told her about. She also realized that this "Fairy Godmother" might have been eavesdropping on their conversation.

"Eheh…" went Aqua nervously, quickly going over to Dorothy. "Are you alright?"

"Darn it!" cried Dorothy, getting up angrily. "They don't make roofs like they used to!"

"Are you sure it's not just because you've been snacking on a little too much junk food?" asked Loco sarcastically, making Dorothy give her a death glare.

"Guys, please!" cried Aqua, not wanting a fight to ensue inside the already-wrecked-again house.

"You don't look like a Fairy Godmother." Said Loco, giving Dorothy a scrutinizing gaze. "You look more like a witch, judging by your robes and the broom. And what were you doing on our roof when you could just poof in here with your magic?"

"What's with all the questions?(!)" cried Dorothy, annoyed. "What is this, some kind of trial?"

"Umm, Dorothy-chan?" squeaked Aqua timidly, trying to get her attention. "I really need your help again--"

But before Aqua could finish her sentence, Dorothy gave her a smug grin, swinging her broom over her shoulder.

"Fear not, dear Aqua!" started Dorothy, in a much too cheerful tone of voice. "I have come to help you once again!"

"What, are you going to help fix our roof that you busted through?" asked Loco, once again sarcastically.

"Shush, girlie! Can't you see I'm just trying to do a person a good deed? SHEESH!"

With that, Dorothy swiveled and turned to face Aqua.

"I will help you go to the ball (again) Aqua! And I will help you to marry the Prince! (Again!)"

"WAIT!" cried Aqua, holding up her hands. "I don't WANT to marry the Prince!"

This sentence made Dorothy frown, and she gave Aqua a raised eyebrow.

"Are you sure?" she asked, still looking at Aqua. "I thought it was every girl's dream to marry a Prince."

"Well, the Prince is a very nice person but…" said Aqua, blushing. "But I'm afraid I've fallen in love with someone else."

Dorothy did a facepalm.

"You always have to make things hard for me, don't you Aqua?" said Dorothy. "Either way, I still want that slipper back." She demanded.

"Couldn't you just poof it away or something?" suggested Loco.

"Not from this far away!" shouted Dorothy. "And besides, now that they have the slipper in their hands, making it disappear right now would just cause more trouble… I mean, have you ever heard of a disappearing slipper before? It would cause a huge uproar! That's why Aqua has to go and get it back. It was her fault after all."

"_No it wasn't!" _shouted Teddy-Ginta, but of course, Aqua was the only one who heard him. He and the other inanimate-objects-turned-human-and-back were currently residing in the same room, so they could hear all of what was going on.

"Alright, I'll go get the slipper now…" said Aqua, exasperated. She didn't seem to have any other choice. Dorothy had started rummaging in her Dimension Zipper. She pulled out a simple yellow gown.

"Here, wear this." Said Dorothy, tossing the dress to Aqua. It wasn't as fancy as Aqua's previous ball dress, but it was still very pretty.

"What, no magic?" asked Loco. Dorothy just cast another angry glare at her.

"But what about the sea-shell hat?" asked Aqua, going into another room to change. "Won't I need it so that Rapunzel and Giromu won't recognize me?"

"Oh, THAT!" started Dorothy. "Well… Truth be told, that was all a bluff."

"WHAT?(!)" cried Aqua, stepping back into the room with the yellow gown on. "Then why didn't they recognize me?"

"Do you remember that star tattoo I gave you under your left eye?"

Aqua nodded.

"That was the real reason why they couldn't recognize you. Although the star looks like a simple tattoo, it's actually a really complex spell. If you didn't want a certain person or persons to recognize you, then they wouldn't. And for those that you wouldn't mind being recognized by, then they wouldn't be fooled."

"Oh! So that's why Loco knew that it was me!" said Aqua. "That was quite a clever trick." Dorothy bent down and made the star appear under Aqua's eye again. Then she straightened up.

"ANYWAY…" started Dorothy; "I think it's time for you to be on your way."

With this, Dorothy very nearly shoved Aqua out the door of her cottage. As she did so, she handed her the other slipper of the one she had lost.

"Have fun!" said Dorothy, much too sweetly. "And please, bring back the other slipper, or else I won't forgive you!"

"Eh?(!)" cried Aqua, as Dorothy shut the door in her face. "Well, I guess I'll get going then…" Aqua said, as she made her way towards the Prince's castle in the distance.

Inside the cottage:

"What the heck was that all about?" shouted Loco. "Why did you just let her go alone, and with no ride? What was with the, 'I won't forgive you,' thing, huh? And why won't you let me go along?(!)"

"Because…" said Dorothy, turning her most evil glare upon the younger looking girl. "Because YOU need to help ME fix the roof and do the triple chores that AQUA left behind!"

Loco suppressed a sigh.

"I never get to have any fun…" she muttered angrily, starting to clean. "Can't you just magic everything clean?"

Dorothy pretended not to hear. Of course, the real reason Dorothy behaved this way, although she would never admit it, was that her magic was quickly running out.

-----------------------------

"Why is everyone so excited about me returning a shoe?" asked Prince Galian. He was standing at the top of some stairs in his castle, looking at the party-goers down below. Edward and Magical Rou were standing behind him.

"Is that…" stammered Ed. "…Is that a hypothetical question?" Edward was immediately elbowed in the ribs by Rou.

"What he means--" put in Rou quickly; "Is that these people are just excited about having another party. After all, we don't get many parties around here.

"But why are there so many GIRLS?" asked Galian, frowning.

"Well, that's because…" started Ed, but he was quickly elbowed again lest he spill the secret.

"Oh stop being so paranoid, your highness." Said Rou quickly. Ed sighed.

"I have a bad feeling about this…" said he.

Under the stairs, Nanashi and Rolan were loafing about, trying to blend in with the crowd. However, it was much harder than last time, since mostly girls had come, and there were only about a dozen guys at this ball.

"Hey, Nanashi-san." Said Rolan, who was playing with his tie. "There's so many girls here, aren't there? I didn't even know we had this many girls in our village…" Here, he laughed nervously, and took a glance at Nanashi. Nanashi seemed deep in thought.

"You're awfully silent today, Nanashi." Continued Rolan. "Are you worried that Aqua won't come? Or rather, are you worried that Aqua will claim the shoe and marry the Prince?"

"…I just want to meet her one last time, before she becomes queen." Said Nanashi finally, after a moment's silence.

"Why are you so pessimistic? What if Aqua doesn't want to marry the Prince? There's still a chance she might pick you…"

"Pick me? Like any girl would want a thief as their husband…" huffed Nanashi. He turned to look out of a window, his eyes distant. Rolan fell silent, not knowing what else to say.

-----------------------------

Quite a distance away, Aqua was still walking along the road, towards the Prince's castle. She was glad that Dorothy didn't summon a ride for her, because now she had time to think things over. How would she claim the shoe without attracting too much attention? How would she tell the Prince that she didn't want to marry him? Aqua sighed.

"I wish I had never gone to the ball…" she said to no one in particular. "If I hadn't gone, then things would have been the same as it always was…"

"Psst! Hey, Aqua!"

Aqua looked up. That voice sounded familiar, but it seemed to be coming from the sea…

"Oh! Gido!" cried Aqua, realizing that she was near the spot where she and Akko-chan fell off the cliff and into the sea. She ran to the edge of the cliff and looked down. Sure enough, there was an orange-haired girl staring up at her with orange eyes.

"Aqua! I thought you wouldn't come!" said Gido, who seemed happy.

"Wait just a minute…" said Aqua, pulling out Akko-chan's charm and summoning the creature. "Look out below!"

There was a loud "splash" and when the ocean spray settled down, there was Aqua, sitting inside Akko-chan, who had its mouth open.

"So I see you're going to the ball again." Said Gido, noticing the gown. "Are you going to try on the shoe too?"

"Actually…" started Aqua. "**I **am the owner of the shoe."

Gido gave out a gasp.

"Oh, so that means you will be able to marry the Prince! I'm very happy for you."

"Well…" started Aqua again, and she related the whole story.

"Oh, well then, you've got a big problem…" said Gido, after the story was finished.

"Um, why aren't YOU at the ball?" asked Aqua, trying to change the subject to something less depressing.

"…I'm afraid that I have a rather big problem too." Said Gido quietly. "I've heard that Ian is at the ball, and I really would like to see him again, but…"

"But?" asked Aqua.

"But I've also heard that there is a mermaid-hunter at the party."

"A mermaid-hunter? I thought that occupation disappeared years ago…"

"Well, it did, but then SHE appeared…"

-----------------------------

"I'm BORED!" screeched Rapunzel, making nearby babies cry. "THE MUSIC IS AWFUL, THE FOOD IS BLAND, AND THERE'S ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO!"

"S-sis! Calm down!" cried Giromu, looking frantically around. "If one of the guards recognizes us, we'll be thrown out, and all this trouble would have been for nothing!"

Rapunzel gave a loud "hmph!" as she drew a pink fan back over her face.

"Having to hide my beauty…" she continued, fuming. "This is a disgrace!"

"Don't worry sister! When you marry the Prince, you will be the most beautiful Queen of all time! And everyone will be blinded by your beauty and will have no choice but to bow down to you!"

"But what if you don't get chosen?" said a chilling voice from behind Rapunzel and Giromu. The two turned around quickly to see who the speaker was. The figure was clothed in a blue oriental style suit, with a skull mask over their face. The figure also had spiky blonde hair.

"Who are you?" shouted Giromu. "How dare you say such things to my sister?"

"Hold it, Giromu." Said Rapunzel. "You sure do have a lot of guts to mess with me, wise guy!"

"I'm just stating what is on your mind." Said the figure. "My name is Kimera."

Rapunzel regarded Kimera closely. The she smiled.

"My name is Rapunzel and this is my little brother, Giromu. I've never seen the likes of you, before. However, it seems to me that you want something from me."

"Yes," continued Kimera. "I want your help in catching me a certain type of fish—a mermaid in fact."

"So you're a mermaid hunter, huh? Well what do I get in return?"

"I'll help you take over this village, should you not be chosen queen." Said Kimera. "And, if you're not satisfied then… I'll help you take over the world."

Rapunzel thought this over for a moment, then held out her hand.

"Deal."

-----------------------------

"Oh dear!" cried Aqua, after Gido had finished telling her story. "That's awful!" Gido nodded sadly.

"It's dangerous for me to go to the ball tonight, so I don't think I will." Said Gido. "However, you still need to go Aqua. I'll take you there again."

And so, with Gido in the lead, Aqua floated towards the Prince's castle once again.

-----------------------------

"Why do I have this sudden sense of foreboding?"

This was said by Loco, who had been washing dirty dishes.

"What are you whining about?" grunted Dorothy, who was cleaning the fireplace.

"I just have this really bad feeling that something horrible will happen to Aqua…" replied Loco, a hint of worry in her voice.

"Nice try, kiddo, but I'm still not letting you go to the ball." Stated Dorothy flatly.

"…Fiddlesticks." Mumbled Loco.

-----------------------------

Prince Galian looked at the old grandfather clock in his castle. It was 6 o' clock.

"Alright guys," started Galian, motioning to his two servants. "It's time to start the shoe search!"

**To Be Continued…**

A maybe long chapter next time!


	6. Part 6: The Trap

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Marchen Awakens Romance or any of the characters mentioned in this fic.

**Notes: **More suspense awaits! I know the last chapter wasn't very funny, and this one probably isn't either, but I'll make up for it in the next chapter! (Hopefully)

**Cinder-Aqua**

**Part 6: The Trap**

Roughly two hours had passed since the search for the owner of the shoe began, but it wasn't going so well. Galian was sitting at his throne, watching as girl after girl tried unsuccessfully to put on the shoe. So far, there had already been a broken toe, a sprained ankle, a twisted wrist, and a black eye—Galian didn't quite know what caused the black eye. However, he did notice that the girls were acting quite strangely.

"I'm only returning the shoe." Thought Galian. "And yet there are so many girls who claim it… It really is quite odd. Sure, it's a nice looking slipper, but it's not very valuable… And what's the point of claiming a slipper if you only have one of the pair?"

From farther away, Edward and Magical Rou were looking on.

"I think he's on to us…" said Edward, sweating.

Farther away, Aqua was sitting in the shadows, not wanting to be noticed. She had arrived at the party much earlier before, but she wanted to wait until all the other girls had finished trying on the shoe.

"So how long are you going to sit here?" asked a voice, and Aqua looked up in surprise to see Nanashi, smiling down at her.

"Oh! Um, how long did you know I was here?" Aqua asked.

"Long enough." He replied simply. "I was afraid you wouldn't come."

"Well, I wasn't really planning on coming…"

"Why not? That was your shoe, wasn't it?"

"How did you know?" asked a surprised Aqua.

"I saw the shoe fall off in all the commotion your friends made." Said Nanashi.

"Oh, you mean Ginta, Snow, Jack, and Alviss…"

"What?"

"N-nothing!"

"Well…" started Nanashi slowly. "If you don't mind… Would you like to have one more dance before you go to try on the shoe?" Aqua blushed at this.

"…I would love to." She said.

-----------------------------

Back in Aqua's cottage, there was a loud crashing noise.

"Arg! What did you do?(!)" cried Loco, panicked. She was looking at a large green vase that had been shattered on the ground.

"Oops…" went Dorothy, straightening up.

"Oops? Is that the only answer you have for knocking down Aqua's family's heirloom?(!)" shouted Loco angrily. "Do you even KNOW how much that vase COST? It's worth more than Rapunzel's and Giromu's clothes and stuff COMBINED!"

"Wait, there was something in it…" said Dorothy, picking up a rolled up piece of parchment from the wreckage. She unrolled it, and Loco gasped and grabbed it from her.

"Hey, don't you have any manners?" asked Dorothy annoyed, but Loco was busily reading the paper.

"Do you… Do you know what this is?(!)" cried Loco, showing Dorothy the paper.

"How should I know?" said Dorothy angrily. "I've never seen that paper in my life!"

"It's father's will!"

"…Wait. So you and Aqua are related? I thought all this time that you were just a maid or something."

A vein popped in Loco's forehead.

"I'm her adopted sister!" she shouted.

"Well that explains it… No wonder you two don't look alike…" said Dorothy. Loco did a facepalm.

"Look." Continued Loco. "The will says that Rapunzel is only holding onto the family's property and money until Aqua turns 17. That means that Aqua is the true inheritor of the family's fortune! It also says here that she will get half of the fortune and that…" Here Loco trailed off.

"That what?" asked Dorothy impatiently.

"…That I will get the other half…" finished Loco, touched that Aqua's father would consider her his child even if she had been adopted.

After a moment's silence, Dorothy spoke up.

"Well, are you just going to stand there all day, or are you going to help me finish these chores?"

-----------------------------

Back at the ball, trouble was brewing…

For it was Rapunzel's turn to try on the shoe.

"Hey, you!" shouted Galian, standing up. "I thought I told the guards not to let you in!"

"Oh, your highness." Started Rapunzel, grinning evilly. "Is that any way to treat your guests? I was just coming to claim back my shoe."

"Your shoe, huh?" said Galian. "I'll only let you have it if you can prove to me that you are its owner!"

"Very well." Said Rapunzel, taking off her own shoe. There were many "ew"s from the audience.

Unfortunately (or fortunately), Rapunzel's feet were much too big for the shoe. She couldn't even get her toes into it.

"See? It's not yours, is it?" Stated Galian smugly.

"We'll see about that…" grunted Rapunzel, trying to shove her foot into the tiny shoe. After much more grunting and struggling, she was miraculously able to get her whole foot inside the shoe. There were "ooh"s and "ah"s coming from the audience. Galian was in a state of shock. Ed and Rou gave each other frightened glances. Rapunzel let out a huge laugh as Giromu cheered from the crowd.

"Yes! I'm the new q—"

But before Rapunzel could finish, the shoe popped off, flying at immense speeds, and hit Ed squarely in the face.

"Edward!" shouted Galian and Rou at the same time, running towards the knocked-out dog.

"I think that more than proves you are not the owner of the shoe." Said Galian. "Now please leave before I send my guards to 'escort' you out."

Rapunzel gave a large, "hmph!" as she made her way towards the exit, with Giromu following behind.

"I will be queen of this village." Said Rapunzel, without turning her back. "I'll be queen no matter what…" With that, she and Giromu disappeared into the outside and into the shadows.

As this was happening, Aqua and Nanashi had been dancing on the balcony, where no one could see.

"…Did you just hear a noise?" asked Aqua, oblivious to what had happened.

"…No." Nanashi lied.

"Oh, well, then I guess it was just my imagination…"

-----------------------------

Back at Aqua's cottage, Loco was looking out of a window, her face frowned in worry. The sun had finally started to set, making the summer sky blaze with a deep fiery orange color, tinted with pink and purples.

"I'm worried about Aqua." Loco said, truthfully this time. "What's taking her so long? I knew that you should have at least sent her a carriage!" The last sentence was directed towards Dorothy, of course.

"You worry too much." Said Dorothy, who was taking a break. She was sitting on a chair.

"But what if Rapunzel and Giromu find her? What then?" demanded Loco. "I knew I should have gone with her…"

"Don't worry, the spell never fails unless it gets wiped off. And even if you had gone, I doubt you would be able to defend her against Rapunzel."

"Well, what are you going to do about it, then?"

Dorothy glared at the younger girl, then sighed. She looked towards a small side table, which had a lamp, teacup, flowerpot, and teddy bear on it.

"Alright, I guess I have no choice, do I?" said Dorothy. Loco gave her a confused look, as Dorothy waved her broom. Smoke filled the room, and when it disappeared…

"Yay! We're human! Again!"

This was said by Ginta. He and the other three inanimate objects had also turned human once again. Loco stared in shock at Ginta, Snow, Jack, and Alviss.

"So Aqua WAS telling the truth…" muttered Loco, still in a state of shock.

Dorothy waved the last remnants of the smoke away in annoyance.

"I want you guys to go out and protect Aqua again." Commanded Dorothy.

"We know, we know." Said Alviss. "Like we said last time, we CAN hear after all."

"Fine, whatever. Just go." Dorothy huffed. She then held up a Guardian ÄRM charm. "Flying L--!"

"Wait!" cried Loco. "Could you please summon him OUTSIDE?"

"…Everyone's a critic…" mumbled Dorothy.

-----------------------------

Back at the ball, the last few girls were waiting to try on the shoe. Aqua and Nanashi watched from the balcony. The castle ballroom was nearly empty now, since many of the girls had left because they were too sad to continue partying.

"Well, it's going to be your turn soon." Said Nanashi, smiling sadly.

"Yeah, I guess…" replied Aqua.

They both stayed silent after this, not knowing what else to say.

Back on the floor, Rolan was talking to Ian, who he had met earlier.

"So you're looking for a girl too, huh?" said Rolan. Ian nodded.

"Her name is Gido." Said he, sighing deeply. "I was hoping she'd come to the ball, but I guess fate is not on my side tonight…"

At the throne area, the last girl had just finished trying on the shoe. It didn't fit, and she sadly walked out of the castle and into the night.

"Well, I guess that wraps it up…" said Galian, tired. He then went slowly to his room, as Edward and Magical Rou turned to look at each other.

"See?" said Ed. "I told you this was going to be a disaster! We're lucky that the Prince hasn't gotten on to us!"

"Darn it." Mumbled Rou. "I could have sworn that that would be a fool-proof plan…"

"Either way, we're the ones who have to clean everything up…" whined Ed.

Back on the balcony again, Nanashi caught Aqua's attention.

"Hey, I think you better go down there before they close the castle up." He said.

"Oh! I guess you're right…" said Aqua, trying to sound happy, but failing. Nanashi caught this.

"…Aren't you… Aren't you happy to become the new queen?"

"To tell you the truth, not really…" Nanashi was surprised at this answer.

"But I thought every girl wanted to be a queen! You get riches… Royalty… Everything!"

"Yes, but what's the point of marrying someone you don't even love?" said Aqua, bitterly. She then realized what she had said and blushed deeply. "Er, I think I will go now…" With that, she quickly flounced down the steps, with Nanashi staring after her in shock.

"I think I should leave now." Muttered Nanashi. "It's too painful to stay and watch this…" With that, Nanashi too went down the stairs. After notifying Rolan that they were leaving, the two made their way towards the exit. (Ian decided to stay a bit longer.) On their way out, they heard two voices talking in the shadows…

"You mean that girlie actually dared to show her face again?(!)" screeched Rapunzel. Giromu nodded.

"Yeah! And she has the audacity to try and claim to shoe, too!" said Giromu.

Nanashi and Giromu listened from behind some bushes.

"Hey, isn't that…?" started Rolan, but he was immediately elbowed in the stomach.

"Shush!" whispered Nanashi.

"Grr, if that girlie becomes the next queen," screeched Rapunzel; "I'LL KILL HER!"

Rolan gasped loudly, making Nanashi elbow him again.

"…Did you hear a noise, sister?" asked Giromu, looking around suspiciously. However, Rapunzel was too angry to notice.

"Shall we start the takeover?" asked another voice. It was Kimera, who had just come into the clearing. She was still wearing her ghastly mask.

"Wait." Said Rapunzel. "I want to see what happens first."

"Fine." Stated Kimera. "But you must remember to hold onto your end of the promise."

"Whatever." Muttered Rapunzel, as she began climbing her way to the Prince's balcony, using her long hair like spider legs.

Nanashi and Rolan, having seen enough, crept quietly back inside the castle. Ian was still there. He looked up when the two came back in.

"What are you guys doing--?" started Ian, but he was interrupted by Rolan's outburst.

"WhatarewegoingtodoNanashi?(!)" cried Rolan, who was in such a panic that he was talking at high speeds.

"CALM YOURSELF!" bellowed Nanashi, slapping Rolan across the face. This seemed to work.

"What's going on?" asked Ian, going over to the two. He was frowning with concern.

"Look, we need your help, okay?" said Nanashi. "I'll explain everything as we go along…"

-----------------------------

Inside Galian's room, Galian was sitting at a desk, staring at royal papers. There was a knock at his door.

"What is it now?" asked Galian in annoyance, standing up. "You may come in—but this better be important!"

"Your highness, your highness!" cried Edward, bursting into the room. Rou and Aqua followed behind. "We found the owner of the shoe!"

"Yes! The shoe fits! AND she has the other pair to prove it!" This was said by Rou, who moved out of the way so that the Prince could see Aqua's feet. She was wearing the lost shoe and the other one that she brought along.

"Well, that's nice." Said Galian, smiling. He was happy that the shoe was finally returned to its rightful owner, but Aqua spoke up.

"Y-your highness!" stuttered Aqua. "You are a very nice man, but I cannot marry you!"

Galian stared in surprise at Aqua, then turned to look at his two servants, who were trying to hide their faces.

"You two!" he shouted, making the two jump. "So that was your plan all along, wasn't it?"

Now it was Aqua's turn to stare in surprise.

"So the shoe search was only a cover-up for your real plan to find me a wife; is that right?" continued Galian, shaking with anger.

"Well…" started Rou.

"Yes, it's true!" wailed Ed. Rou gave him a kick.

"Idiot! Don't go spilling our plans!" said Rou, without realizing what he had just said. "…Oops…"

Galian looked like he was going to blow his top.

"Well…" he started, trying to keep his anger under control. "You're lucky that this girl doesn't want to marry me, otherwise, there would have been a lot of trouble…"

"Yes, your highness…" said Ed and Rou together, bowing low on the ground, hoping that Galian would spare their lives.

"Please, don't punish them!" spoke up Aqua. "I'm sure they were only trying to do what was best for you."

"Yeah! She's right!" said Ed, much too quickly and eagerly. Rou gave him another swift kick. Galian rubbed his chin as though in thought.

"Fine." He said finally. "I won't punish them. But the next time they do something behind my back, I won't be so forgiving."

"Thank you, your highness!" said Ed and Rou together, standing up.

"Um…" started Aqua, making them all turn to look towards her. "…So that means I won't have to get married to you, right?"

"Well…" started Galian. "I'm afraid… I'm afraid that I've suddenly fallen deeply and madly in love with you!"

"What?(!)" went Aqua, shocked.

"WHAT?(!)" went Ed and Rou. Suddenly, Galian threw back his head and let out a large laugh.

"I was just kidding." He said, after he finished laughing. Aqua breathed out a sigh of relief.

"…OOC much?" said Rou, sweatdropping.

"Oh come on, I haven't had that much fun in years…"

Suddenly, there was a loud rumble.

"Your highness!" cried Ed, pointing. "There's someone outside the balcony!"

There was a bone-chilling laugh. It belonged to Rapunzel, who was sitting on the railing of the balcony.

"You!" cried Galian. "What are you doing here?(!) Guards! Guards?"

"The guards won't hear you…" said Rapunzel, wickedly. "They're all having a nice long nap."

Ed opened the door to check. A thick purple smoke floated in.

"Sleeping gas!" cried Rou, quickly closing it again. Then, turning to Rapunzel, "How dare you play such a dirty trick!"

"Oh, that's just the tip of the iceberg." Said Rapunzel, who was clearly enjoying herself.

"Just what do you mean by that?" demanded Galian.

"A friend of mine is summoning demons to this village." Said Rapunzel calmly. "And my dear brother is making an ice bridge to a nearby island, which will be the site of my new palace. We'll take over this whole place by daybreak!"

-----------------------------

Nanashi, Rolan, and Ian were currently outside, having escaped the sleeping gas. They looked around, shocked at what they saw. Large shadow-like creatures were encircling the village in the distance, and screaming was heard.

"What have they done…?" asked Rolan. Nanashi clenched his fist in anger.

"The only way we can stop this is if we target the source." Said he, turning towards the coast, where an ice bridge had now appeared. It went across the sea to a large island nearby.

"Ian!"

The three men looked around in surprise. The voice seemed to be coming from the sea…

"Gido!" cried Ian, recognizing the voice. He ran to the edge of the cliff and looked down. Gido was staring up at him, her face pale.

"Ian! You must hurry and run away!" she said. "The village is being taken over by Rapunzel, Giromu, and Kimera!"

"But I can't just leave the villagers like this!" said Ian. "And I can't leave you either…"

"Aww, how sweet…" said an evil voice, as Gido was suddenly caught in a net, and hoisted up.

"Gido!" cried Ian, looking towards the figure that had caught her. It was Kimera.

"Looks like I had a lucky catch today." Said Kimera happily, pulling up the net as Gido struggled inside it. "I guess I didn't need that hag and her scrawny brother after all."

"You! Let her go!" yelled Ian.

"No way. Not after all the trouble that it took for me to finally capture her."

"Why do you want to capture all the mermaids?" asked Nanashi. "From the looks of you, you seem to be a mermaid hunter."

"Yeah. So?" said Kimera. "What if I just like collecting mermaids for my collection? I'm just your ordinary collector…"

"But…" stuttered Rolan. "You don't KILL them, do you?"

"Well of COURSE I kill them." Stated Kimera, matter-of-factly. "They're much too troublesome to keep alive. They might escape."

Gido gasped. Ian glared at Kimera. Nanashi shook his head in disgust.

"You're an awful man! An awful, awful man!" shouted Rolan, on the verge of tears. Everyone looked at him in surprise. Then Kimera let out a skin-crawling laugh.

"I am not a man." Said she, taking off her mask.

"Holy cow! He's a she!" said Nanashi.

"But…" started Ian, looking confused. "Why would a woman ever want to hunt down such beautiful creatures? And especially to hunt down another defenseless girl… Have you no SHAME?"

"Just so you know, kid." Said Kimera, ticked off by his statement. "I'm not a 'defenseless girl' as you put it. I'm surprised that this is coming from someone who can't even rescue the one he loves." She gave him a smirk.

"How did you know…?" asked Ian, shocked. This only provided more amusement for Kimera.

"Of course, I won't kill her outright." Said Kimera, as black smoke swirled around her. "I'll torture her, slowly, until she doesn't even want to live anymore. Come to the deserted island if you ever wish to see her alive again. I'll be waiting there, in a large palace. Oh, and you better hurry, because if you don't get there by sunrise, all you'll find is her corpse… Muhaha!"

With that, Kimera teleported away, leaving the three men even more shaken and confused.

"Rolan!" shouted Nanashi. "Lend me your Guardian ÄRM!"

"What? No way!" cried Rolan. "The last time I lent it to you…" But he was stopped short when he saw the serious look on Nanashi's face. "Well, alright…" With this, he reluctantly took out Cockatrice's charm. Nanashi took it.

"Ian, come with me." Continued Nanashi. "The Guardian ÄRM will help us get to the island quickly. There, you can face off against Kimera. I'll take on Rapunzel."

"Hey, what about me?" demanded Rolan.

"Your job is to help defend the citizens. Please protect them. I'm leaving this up to you."

"…Alright." Stammered Rolan. "I-I'll do my best!"

-----------------------------

Back at the village, Dorothy and Loco ran outside the cottage, looking around at the destruction.

"I knew that something bad was going to happen!" cried Loco. "We must get to the Prince's castle quickly! I fear for Aqua…."

"But we have to finish the chores!" cried Dorothy. Loco did a facepalm.

"Look. What's the point of finishing her chores if Aqua doesn't even come back alive?"

"Well…"

"DOROTHY!"

"Fine! Quit your shouting, kid!" With that, Dorothy took out her broom. "Get on and hold on!" she said. "It's going to be a bumpy ride!"

And so, as the village is slowly being taken over by nameless shadows, four teams have been created. Although made up of different people brought together by fate, they all have the same goal—to save the kingdom by defeating the most evil and wicked of persons. Will they succeed? Stay tuned!

**To Be Continued!**

**Random Notes:**

"_Do you even KNOW how much that vase COST? It's worth more than Rapunzel's and Giromu's clothes and stuff COMBINED!"_: At first, I was going to have Loco say, "It's worth more than mine and Aqua's healthcare combined!" but then I thought that it sounded a bit TOO random, so I scrapped the idea.

"_Well…" started Galian. "I'm afraid… I'm afraid that I've suddenly fallen deeply and madly in love with you!"_: No, I don't support Galian x Aqua either, though it was quite shocking to read that the first time, eh?

_OOC_: Out of character. Although if you're and avid fanfic reader, you should know that by now.

"_You!" cried Galian._: Is it just me, or does he say this EVERY time he meets Rapunzel? I definitely need to create some new dialogue for him…

Blergh, the ending sounded really cheesy too… Well, see you next time!


	7. Part 7: The Face Off

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Marchen Awakens Romance or any of the characters mentioned in this fic.

**Notes: **Sorry that this took so long. As summer is drawing to a close, I had to finish my summer books (mythology), start searching for colleges, and fill out all types of forms. But you guys are here for the story, so I'll stop boring you with my troubles.

If you are a Rapunzel fan, I advise you to stop reading NOW. In this chapter, there will be instances of unmerciful Rapunzel bashing! Oh, and on a side note—writing the dialogue for Ginta and co. is just too much fun.

**Cinder-Aqua**

**Part 7: The Face-Off**

Back at the Prince's castle, Prince Galian, Edward, Magical Rou, and Aqua were staring in shock at Rapunzel, as the takeover continued.

"Why are you doing this?" cried Aqua.

"You of all people should know." Said Rapunzel.

"If you hate me, then punish only me! Don't get the other innocent villagers involved!"

"It's too late for that, girlie." Scoffed Rapunzel.

"But I turned down marrying the Prince!" cried Aqua.

"It doesn't matter!" Rapunzel screeched. "I've been waiting far too long to become queen, and now I don't even have to marry this scumbag of a prince to be one."

"Hey!" shouted Galian angrily.

"Anyway," continued Rapunzel; "This is all your fault, girlie." She pointed at Aqua. "If you hadn't come into my life, none of this would have happened! You are the epitome of everything I hate! You're pretty, graceful, well-liked by everyone… People like you don't deserve to live!"

"Well what are you then?" spoke up Galian. "You're an ugly hag, who's mean, cold-hearted, and selfish. You are also bloodthirsty and hot-tempered. Surely YOU are the one who doesn't deserve to live!"

Rapunzel's anger was multiplied by this comment.

"How dare you speak to me like that!" she screeched, aiming her sharp pointed hairs toward the Prince.

"Your highness!" cried Ed and Rou.

But before the strands of hair could reach Galian, he swiftly pulled out his Hiraiken and slashed them all.

"Don't underestimate me simply because I am a Prince." Said he, smirking as he held the sword in a defensive stance. "Attack me again and I'll give you a haircut."

"Hiya guys! Are we late?"

From the doorway, in burst Ginta, Snow, Jack, and Alviss.

"You're here!" said Aqua happily.

"But how did you guys get through the sleeping gas?" asked Rou.

"Don't worry, Alviss took care of that!" replied Ginta.

"As usual…" said Alviss, sighing.

Rapunzel looked at the four newly arrived people. As much as she wanted to strangle the mysterious girl that had caused her so much pain, she knew that she was quickly being outnumbered. And although she thought of herself as a very strong fighter, she knew that she could never defeat all eight at once.

"Meet me at the island!" she cackled, as she started teleporting away. "If you ever wish to regain control of your pathetic kingdom!" With that, she disappeared into the night.

"Darn it! That coward!" shouted Rou. "She sees a few more fighters, and she turns tail and runs!"

"All the better." Said Galian. "At least she won't be able to do anymore damage to the castle and village from that far away."

"I don't know…" said Ginta. "Those shadow people look like they do a pretty good job of destroying the village without Rapunzel…"

"What?" cried Galian.

"There's shadow people attacking the village!" put in Snow.

"Yeah, and they're really scary!" put in Jack.

"Although that's pretty much a given…" put in Alviss, sweatdropping.

"That leaves me no choice then…" said Galian. "Aqua, I'm afraid you'll have to face Rapunzel with your friends." He motioned to Ginta and co. "My two servants and I…"

"Wait, us?" asked Ed. He was swiftly kicked by Rou.

"…Will have to stay here and protect the villagers." Finished Galian. "Since the castle is free of sleeping gas now, we'll have to try to round up all the people and move them here. At least that way, we have a chance of protecting them all. Come, Edward, Rou."

"Yes, your highness!" said the two.

"And Aqua, please be careful." Said Galian, turning to her. "You are still young—there's no point in dying here."

"Thank you, your highness." Said Aqua, as Galian and his two servants ran out the door.

Suddenly, from the balcony, a familiar voice called out.

"Aqua!" It belonged to Loco. She and Dorothy had just reached the castle on Dorothy's trusty broom. As Dorothy hovered over the balcony, Loco jumped off to reach Aqua.

"Oh, Loco! You're safe!" said Aqua, relieved.

"I'm glad you're safe too." Said Loco, smiling.

"Um, guys…" said Dorothy. "I'm just as happy to see that Aqua's safe, but could we please wait to have this reunion later? After all, there's a village we need to save!"

"Yes, let's save the village!" shouted Ginta. "First the village—next stop, the world!"

"…You say that like you're going to take over the world or something…" said Jack, sweatdropping.

-----------------------------

Faraway, on the deserted island, Rolan's guardian ÄRM, Cockatrice, had just landed, dropping off Nanashi and Ian. The two men took in their surroundings. In the moonlight, they couldn't see much, but they did catch a few good glimpses.

There were dark, mangled trees without leaves surrounding the island. The grass was dead, and awful-smelling purple flowers littered the ground. They were ugly, and had thorns all over. In the distance, there was a large mountain, with a wide cliff jutting from its side. On the cliff, there was a dark, gloomy castle. Underneath the cliff, there was a large dark opening—a cave.

"Well, they sure pulled out all the stops, didn't they?" said Nanashi, breaking the tensed silence. Ian nodded in agreement.

"I wonder where Kimera is hiding…" said he. "She could either be in that cave, or in the castle."

"My bet's the cave." Said Nanashi. "Castles are much too fancy for her type. It fits more with Rapunzel."

"Well, I guess this is where we part." Said Ian, holding out his hand.

"Yes, I guess so." Said Nanashi, taking the hand and shaking it. "My we both make it out of here alive. Good luck on freeing your girlfriend."

"Good luck with defeating that hag." Replied Ian, smiling.

And so, the two parted.

-----------------------------

As Prince Galian, Edward, and Magical Rou made their way to the village, Aqua, Loco, Dorothy, and the formerly-inanimate-objects-turned-human (again) made their way to the ice bridge that connected the mainland to the island. What they met there surprised them.

"Giromu!" shouted Loco. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm guarding the bridge, can't you see that?" said he, grinning evilly. "Sister told me to stay here and make sure no one else got to the island! Not that sister would have any trouble killing you all…" he added quietly.

"Move aside, and MAYBE we'll spare that sister of yours." Put in Dorothy, wielding her broom.

"Fat chance!" scoffed Giromu. "I'll never leave this spot! Just come and attack me, why don't you?"

"Compromising won't help, Dorothy." Said Loco. "If Rapunzel says it, he'll do it."

"I guess we'll have no choice but to fight him…" said Aqua.

"No way! I don't want to waste my magic on some small fry like him!" huffed Dorothy. "You four!" She motioned to Ginta and co. "Take care of this brat and show who's boss!"

"That trick won't work on me!" said Giromu, blocking the path. "You think you can distract me with these four wimps and just run through here yourselves? No way! You'll have to defeat me first!"

"Wow, he's smarter than I thought." Said Dorothy sarcastically.

"Did he just call US wimps?" said Jack angrily.

"Let's beat him up!" shouted Snow.

"…That's… something that I wouldn't expect to hear from you…" said Alviss.

"Don't worry about us, Aqua!" put in Ginta. "We'll create a distraction. While he's distracted, you three can get to the island. We'll catch up with you later!"

Dorothy rolled her eyes.

"That was the whole POINT of the plan…" she said, doing a facepalm. "And you just got it now?"

"Uh…" went Ginta.

"But how will we distract him?" put in Snow quickly.

"Well, we can always try taunting him; that usually works…" said Jack.

"Alright then!" said Ginta, regaining his composure quickly. "Hey Giromu! Your sister's so ugly, she can shatter mirrors just by looking at them!"

A vein popped in Giromu's forehead, but he stood his ground.

"Hey Giromu!" started Jack. "Your sister's so ugly, that when she goes into a public restroom, people say, 'This isn't the men's bathroom!'"

More veins popped in Giromu's forehead.

"Hey Giromu!" started Snow. "Your sister's so ugly, that when she knocks on a person's door, the person answers, 'Oh, I didn't know it was Halloween!'"

Giromu's face started turning slightly red from anger. Ginta, Snow, and Jack looked towards Alviss. It was his turn.

"…Do I actually have to participate in this stupid game?" said Alviss. "I refuse to sink on such a low level as to start taunting my opponents!"

"Please, Alviss!" said Snow.

"Do it for Aqua!" put in Ginta.

"Yeah, the girl who cleans you everyday!" put in Jack.

Alviss glared at Jack; and if looks could kill, Jack would have been dead in three seconds flat.

"…Fine." Said Alviss, finally. "…Giromu, your sister's so ugly, when puppies look at her, they spontaneously self-combust."

The other three gasped.

"That's…That's so mean, Alviss!" cried Snow.

"Yeah Alviss, that was pretty harsh…" said Ginta.

"Who knew you were THAT cruel…" put in Jack.

"WHAT?" shouted Alviss. "What are you guys TALKING about?(!) Your taunts were way worse than mine!"

"Yeah, but the poor puppies!" cried Snow.

"They were poor innocent puppies!" cried Jack.

"Leave the cute little puppies out of this!" put in Ginta.

Aqua, Loco, and Dorothy sweatdropped, as Alviss shouted out angrily, "What, did you all eat a bowl of STUPID for breakfast?(!)"

Luckily for them all, Giromu too, had lost his temper.

"How dare you talk about sister like that!" he yelled, as he leaped towards Ginta and co., with a sharp icicle forming around his right hand.

"Alright! It worked!" said Dorothy happily, as Ginta quickly pulled out Babbo and used the hammer to block Giromu's attack. The other three also took out their respective weapons: Snow, Yuki-chan; Jack, the Battle Shovel; and Alviss, the Thirteen Totem Pole.

"The pathway's clear now, but we better hurry." Said Loco. "Who knows how long it'll be before Giromu realizes we're escaping behind his back."

"Oh dear…" started Dorothy, looking at her broom. "I don't think all of us can ride on this broom…"

"Don't worry!" spoke up Aqua. She tapped her shoes together, making ice skates appear underneath them. "See? I remembered!"

"Brilliant!" said Dorothy. "Well, I might as well give you that dress back, hm?"

With a wave of the broom, Aqua was once again wearing her first ball outfit, complete with the seashell hat.

"Didja know? It's also a battle costume!" exclaimed Dorothy happily.

"…That has got to be the stupidest looking battle costume in the history of mankind." Said Loco. Dorothy turned a fierce glare in her direction.

"Well, what are you guys waiting for?" put in Aqua enthusiastically. "Let's go to the island and defeat Rapunzel!"

With that said, the three girls made their way across the ice bridge to the island, while Ginta and co. fought bravely against the enraged Giromu.

-----------------------------

On the other side of the kingdom, Prince Galian and his trusty servants had just reached the village. It had almost been destroyed to ruins.

"Oh dear!" cried Edward. "Rapunzel wasn't kidding around when she said that she would take over this village by sunrise!"

"It's too late to save the village…" said Rou sadly. "We'll have to rebuild it from scratch…"

"Don't worry about such petty matters now!" shouted Galian. "We still have a chance to save the people!"

From the center of the nearly destroyed village, there came a shout and then many explosions:

"Alies d'Angel!"

Edward recognized the voice instantly.

"That's Rolan!" he said, running towards the village center. Galian and Rou followed swiftly behind. Surely enough, when they reached the center, they saw a blonde-haired man with wings slowly descending to touch the ground.

"Rolan!" cried Ed, running up to him.

"Oh! It's you, Edward!" said Rolan, quite happy to see another ally. "The village is under attack by these shapeless shadow things!"

"We know; where are the villagers?" asked Galian.

"They are safe here." Said Rolan, motioning his arm towards several large buildings. The villagers stared out of the windows, frightened. "But I don't know how long I can protect them…" he continued.

"Don't worry, we're going to bring them back to the castle." Said Galian, as another horde of shadow men sprung from the ground. "Edward! Magical Rou! I want you to escort these people to safety. I'll stay here with Sir Rolan and bring up the rear!"

"Yes sir!" said Ed and Rou simultaneously.

-----------------------------

Meanwhile, Aqua, Loco, and Dorothy had landed safely on the island. The moon still hung high overhead, thankfully lighting up the island enough so that Dorothy didn't need to use her magic. They had all separated briefly to explore the outskirts of the island.

"So," started Aqua, as the three met up again. "So, what have you guys learned about this island?"

"That Rapunzel has awful fashion tastes?" suggested Loco, sarcastically of course.

"Other than that…" said Aqua, sweatdropping.

"Well, when it doubt…" started Dorothy, pointing towards the center of the island; "Always look towards the big creepy castle in the background with the dark clouds and thunder and lightning surrounding it."

Aqua and Loco turned to look at the aforementioned castle. There were ominous dark clouds hovering lowly over it, and thunder and lightning flashed in the background.

"…The weather was so nice just a moment ago…" said Aqua quietly.

"Ugh, why are evil villains always so STUPID?" shouted Loco. "They always go and build their hideouts in the most visible place possible… Hello! They call it a 'hideout' for a reason! And why do they always build it on the most dangerous place possible? Look at how dangerously that castle dangles over that cliff! Seriously! Do they want to WANT to die sooner, or is it just me?"

Dorothy nodded in agreement, as she said, "These new villains are all brawn and no brain. Oh, by the way, Aqua, I did find something else."

She led the way to two sets of footprints embedded in the moist dirt.

"Do these belong to your friends?" she asked Aqua.

"From the looks of these, they look like they were made from men's shoes…" started Aqua. "I don't know any me—Oh. Oh dear…"

Loco and Dorothy exchanged worried glances.

"What is it?" demanded Dorothy. "What's wrong?"

"Nanashi!" cried Aqua. "He probably went to fight Rapunzel!"

"Well, there's only one way to find out…" said Dorothy, slowly walking towards the castle. Aqua and Loco followed behind.

"Oh no…" moaned Aqua. "He'll be killed!"

"Aqua." started Loco slowly. "I know you're worried about Nanashi, but you of all people should have more faith in him. After all, he did this all for you."

"But why?"

"Isn't it obvious? He loves you."

-----------------------------

Back on the mainland, Ginta and co. were still fighting vigorously against Giromu.

"Babbo, version three!" shouted Ginta. "Gargoyle!"

A bright light engulfed the kendema, and what appeared in its place was a menacing looking guardian. Gargoyle shot a beam of energy at Giromu's Guardian ÄRM, Egola. It immediately broke into pieces.

"Darn it!" cried Giromu. "I used all my magic power in building the ice bridge!"

"Fight fire with fire," started Snow; "And fight ice with ice! Yuki-chan!" With that, she summoned the giant snowman right over Giromu. Giromu was able to dodge at the last second, but his attention was taken away, giving Alviss a chance to hit him.

"Thirteen Totem Pole!" shouted Alviss, making the poles sprout out of the ground once again. Giromu, who was tired by now, was only able to dodge less than half the poles, which pummeled him mercilessly. Jack appeared swiftly behind Giromu, to give him the finishing blow.

"Um, uh… SHOVEL!" shouted Jack, whacking Giromu in the back of the head with his Battle Shovel. With that blow, Giromu fell to the ground, knocked out cold. The other three teammates quickly gathered around the fallen Giromu.

"…Shovel?" asked Ginta. "What kind of attack is that?"

"Don't you have a Guardian ÄRM Jack?" Snow asked.

"That was such a weak finish…" stated Alviss flatly.

"Shut up, Lamp Boy!" shouted Jack angrily. "At least I beat him! Isn't that good enough?"

"Well, yeah; but we were the ones who tired him out first." Alviss reminded. "Anyway, do any of you know what day it is?"

"Hmm, let me check." Said Ginta, going over to the unconscious Giromu who was lying on his stomach. The other three looked at Ginta, puzzled. Ginta lifted up Giromu's shirt. The top of his underwear showed. Ginta read it, and then announced proudly, "Today's Saturday!"

The other three looked at Ginta in a mix of awe and shock horror.

"Wait, how did you know…" started Alviss, but then he stopped mid-sentence, doing a facepalm. "Actually, nevermind. I don't think I WANT to know… Well, today's Saturday, so that means tomorrow is Sunday…"

"Well, yeah." Put in Jack. "Even **I** know that."

"Technically, today IS tomorrow, since it's past midnight just now." Said Ginta, looking towards the now ruined clocktower.

"What are you getting at?" asked Snow.

"Don't you guys see?" exclaimed Alviss. "Tomorrow, (well, I guess today…) is Aqua's birthday! That means she turns 17, and the will states that she'll get the family's fortune!"

"Oh!" said the other three simultaneously.

"Aww, you remembered her birthday!" said Snow.

"That just proves that you like her!" put in Ginta.

"Yeah!" taunted Jack. "Alviss and Aqua, sitting in a tree…"

"WHAT?(!)" screeched Alviss, his anger returning quickly. "We've been living with her 14 years! How could you guys not know that? Have you been living under the ground or something?"

"Well, technically…" started Jack. "Since I AM a flower pot…"

"Ugh, nevermind!" cried Alviss, throwing his hands up into the air. "NEVERMIND! I don't know why I even bother hanging out with you dolts… Oh wait, that's right, I can't move away from you guys because as a lamp, I don't have any legs! Joy!"

"Umm, I really hate to break your dramatic monologue…" said Snow, a bit sarcastically. "But we really should be helping Aqua right now…"

"Snow's right!" spoke up Ginta. "Aqua needs us! Let's save Aqua!"

There were shouts of "Yeah!" from Snow and Jack.

"…And then we can tease Alviss some more!" finished Ginta.

"Yeah!" put in Jack much too happily. He was immediately punched by Alviss.

-----------------------------

Back on the island, in a deep dark cave under the castle, Kimera was residing. It was a dark place, lighted only by a few dimly lit wall torches. In fact, this was her home, even before the takeover. By some means, Kimera had acquired the island as her own, and the castle on it. However, her face being as disfigured as it was, she would rather dwell deep down in the cave, alone. The walls of the cave were littered with her grotesque "collection," which consisted of mermaid fins, and also the remains of other terrifying creatures of the deep.

Her newest prisoner, Gido, was trapped in a small prison cell nearby, which had a small pool inside. The pool, where Gido was sitting, had only about three inches of water—barely enough to keep her from drying out and dying. Kimera had taken away her charm to turn human, and as a mermaid, Gido could not stay out of the water long.

"I doubt that your fisherman will come to rescue you." Said Kimera to Gido.

"Oh, he'll come." Replied Gido surely. "I know it."

"How can you be so sure? After all, you're only a mermaid. And there are many other fair maidens on the mainland that he can choose from."

"Why are you hunting our kind?" asked Gido. "What have they done to you that left you so bent on revenge?"

"What have they done?" started Kimera, her tone of voice changing completely. It now had a dangerous, murderous edge to it. "Those mermaids… They took my husband!"

"What?" gasped Gido, shocked.

"My husband and I were happily engaged to each other." Continued Kimera, somewhat sadly now. "He was a sailor. It was a dangerous job, and it was foolish of me to fall in love with such a man, but love is blind." Here she sighed. "A week before our wedding day, he had to make one last trip on the seas to ship some goods. He promised that he would return to me safely. However… A week passed. Then two. And still he had not returned. Then, in the third week, one of his crewmates washed onto shore. He was the only survivor."

Here, Kimera paused to catch her breath, and Gido looked at her captor with pity.

"Well, after we restored him to health, we eventually learned what had happened to the ship." Continued Kimera. "On the way back, the ship happened to come upon some mermaids, sitting on a large rock jutting out of the sea."

"The sirens…" gasped Gido.

"Yes, those blasted sea deities!" said Kimera angrily. "Their songs lure sailors and fishermen alike to their doom! The crewmate said that when they heard their sweet singing, they fell entranced. They forgot almost everything, and tried to get closer to hear better, but unfortunately…"

"Their boat rushed onto the rocks nearby, and sank; and nearly everyone perished…" finished Gido solemnly. She had heard the tale of the Sirens many times as a child. They were a wicked race of mermaids, who took joy watching the boatmen suffer.

"Yes, that was what happened." Said Kimera, regaining her composure quickly. "That is why I hate mermaids."

"But not all mermaids are like that!" protested Gido. "Think of how big the ocean is! Think of how many tribes of mermaids there are out there! You can't just assume we are all evil, simply because a few of them are!"

"SILENCE!" bellowed Kimera. "Say one more word and I'll kill you. You're lucky that I haven't yet. Other mermaids would have been dead by now."

Gido drew back, and shuddered.

Suddenly, there was the loud crashing sound of rocks breaking free. Kimera turned to look in angry surprise at the entrance to her room, and there framed in the doorway was none other than…

"Ian!" cried Gido happily.

"Gido!" cried Ian, who was about to rush to his beloved, but happened to be stopped by Kimera.

"Don't you think that you can just waltz into my lair and expect to take back your mermaid so easily!" she said, as her hands turned into small monster-like things with dangerously sharp teeth. "You'll have to fight me for her!"

"Of course." Said Ian, as he summoned his Octopus ÄRM from the long sleeves of his robe. The metal whips writhed as if alive.

"Ha! Such a petty trick!" said Kimera. "Howling Demon!"

With that, a beam of energy shot out of her monster hand and came rushing at Ian. Luckily, he was able to dodge it. Unfortunately, the cave cracked from the immense power of the attack. It started to collapse.

"Darn." Said Kimera simply. She knew that fighting in such a tight area was not a good idea. She would have to find a larger space if she were to show her true potential. So, with that, she grabbed Gido by the arm and teleported out, saying, "Try to catch me if you're still alive, Ian!"

Unfortunately for Ian, he did not have a teleportation ÄRM on him, and the entrance through which he had come in had been barricaded due to falling rocks. He was trapped. He had to think of something quick, or else the walls of the cave would come crashing down on him…

-----------------------------

Meanwhile, on that same island, Nanashi had just reached the villainous castle. It had taken him much longer than Ian had, because the castle rested on the cliff of a very tall mountain. Even Rolan's Cockatrice did little to help speed the journey, since although the trip to the island had been easy, Cockatrice was now reluctant to follow Nanashi's commands, forcing Nanashi to climb the mountain himself.

Upon reaching the top, however, he heard a loud rumbling noise, seeming to come from beneath the mountain.

"I hope Ian's okay…" muttered Nanashi, as he made his way to the castle entrance which was, amazingly, open wide. You'd think that evil villains would be smarter than that.

He called out his Griffin Lance and slowly walked into the massive castle, on the lookout for anything dangerous. Nanashi soon found out that the "castle" was much farther in. What he had seen from the distance was actually the castle walls. Inside these walls, there was an open air garden, filled with more of those hideous spiky purple flowers.

"I guess Rapunzel doesn't have much taste in flowers…" he mumbled, as he came to a stop at some large pillars. For standing there was Rapunzel herself, in all her hairy glory. This time, she was wearing an elaborate red dress with gold lining. He hair was put up into an intricate bun.

"Ah, there you are, Giromu…" said she, emerging from behind one of the pillars. That was when she finally noticed Nanashi, to which she said, "You're not my dear little brother."

"Well, obviously." Said Nanashi a bit sarcastically, smirking all the while.

"Who are you, then?" demanded Rapunzel, putting her hands on her hips. "Listen, punk. I don't want to waste my energy dealing with the likes of you. If I'm going to fight anyone today, it's going to be that girl who ruined my chance at Queendom!"

"Sorry, hag, but you'll just have to make due with me." Said Nanashi simply, at which he charged towards Rapunzel with the Griffin Lance held high. Rapunzel dodged nimbly.

"Hmph." Said she. "What do you think I do in my spare time, go shopping?" With that, she ripped off her dress, revealing a red leotard suit that was her battle costume. "I guess it's time to let my hair down." She continued, pulling her hair out of its bun. Her razor sharp strands of hair moved as if it had a mind of its own.

"Hair Master!" she cried out, as the hair hardened into drills and aimed straight for Nanashi.

Nanashi was able to cut up most of the hair, but there were too many strands for him to handle with a lance alone. The result was that he soon became badly cut.

"Guess I have no choice but to use this…" huffed Nanashi. "Electric Eye!"

However, the attack never hit its target, as it was blocked by Kimera who had appeared almost out of no where.

"Ah, there you are." Said Rapunzel. Then, noticing Gido who was still alive (yet unconscious), "I thought you were going to kill her."

"I am." Replied Kimera, somewhat angrily. "Don't rush me."

Nanashi looked on with a bit of fear rising. He now had two strong opponents to face. His mind raced quickly, as he tried to think of a way to defeat both. Should he hit them both at the same time? Or should he take the weaker one out and then deal with the strong one? He decided to go with the first plan.

"Electric Eye!" he shouted again, aiming at the two talking figures. Kimera jumped nimbly out of the way, but Rapunzel was hit full on. Unfortunately, it didn't hurt her much—it just made her angrier.

"Why didn't you block the attack?(!)" screeched Rapunzel angrily to Kimera. Most of her prized hair was now slightly scorched.

"It's every woman for themselves." Stated Kimera flatly. She threw Gido's body roughly to the side. She was still quite unconscious from the whole ordeal down in the caves. Nanashi noticed her.

"Hey, what did you do to Ian?" he demanded of Kimera.

"Him? Oh, he's probably dead by now." Replied Kimera. This caused a look of shock horror to spread over Nanashi's face, and he became momentarily distracted. Kimera used this chance to seal him into a crystal using one of her ghost ÄRM. An ice-like residue began forming at Nanashi's feet, and slowly formed more crystals upwards towards his stomach.

"Hey, what gives!" exclaimed Nanashi, as he found himself unable to move. "Let me out of here you hags!" he cried, struggling to break free of the crystal prison that was slowly engulfing him whole.

"That's great!" shouted Rapunzel. "Let's kill him now!"

"Wait." Said Kimera. "I have a better idea."

-----------------------------

Elsewhere, Aqua and co. were halfway up the mountain. Dorothy didn't use her broom because that might make them too easy to spot, and they wanted the element of surprise on their side. (Also, this helped Dorothy to conserve magic too, which was fine with her.)

"Ugh!" cried Dorothy. "We're only halfway there!"

"Well, at least we're halfway finished." Said Loco simply. She and Dorothy were currently in the lead. Loco looked behind her to look at Aqua, who had a determined look on her face.

"It doesn't matter if she's my step-mother," started Aqua, more to her self than to Loco. "I'll defeat Rapunzel, no matter what it takes. I'll defeat her once and for all!"

"Yes." Said Loco, happily for the first time in many years. "We'll defeat her—together!"

"For the sake of Prince Galian, the villagers, and Nanashi!"

As this was going on, Dorothy resisted the urge to gag from the sheer cheesy-ness of the whole thing.

"At least you guys won't have to wait long…" said Dorothy, for they had finally reached the fortified castle.

**To Be Continued…**

(Yes, I am stopping here, because I am evil! Muhaha! ((brick'd))

**Random Notes:**

_Hiraiken_: Lightning Rod Sword.

"_Well, they sure pulled out all the stops, didn't they?"_: "Pull out all the stops" is an expression meaning, "to do something as enthusiastically as you can."

"…_Fine." Said Alviss, finally. "…Giromu, your sister's so ugly, when puppies look at her, they spontaneously self-combust."_: I can so see Alviss saying this—in a monotone voice and with a completely bored expression on his face. When I picture this, I burst into a fit of giggles.

"_Well, when it doubt…" started Dorothy, pointing towards the distance; "Always look towards the big creepy castle in the background with the dark clouds and thunder and lightning surrounding it."_A slight joke, since evil villains' hideouts always tend to have such qualities.

_Ginta lifted Giromu's shirt. The top of his underwear showed. Ginta read it, and then announced proudly, "Today's Saturday!"_: You know those underwears with the dates of the week on them? Yeah, that's what Giromu was wearing…

_Kimera's history_: I had to change it greatly, to make it fit in with why she wanted to get revenge on the mermaids. I don't think it's as sad as the original one…

"_The sirens…" gasped Gido._: The sirens are sea deities in Greek Mythology. (At least all that summer reading came to good use…) They are sometimes portrayed as humans and birds also, but here I made them mermaids so that it would fit in with the story.

"_Howling Demon!"_: This attack was taken from the manga.

"_I guess it's time to let my hair down."_: ((Gets mauled for awful pun))

_Kimera used this chance to seal him into a crystal using one of her ghost ÄRM._: Yes, I'm making up more stuff again… Kimera doesn't have such an ÄRM (as far as I know).

"_Well, at least we're halfway finished." Said Loco simply._: It's sort of a joke referring to the famous quote involving whether you see a glass half full or half empty. …Yeah, that was a really weak joke.

Well, see ya next time!


	8. Part 8: The Truth

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Marchen Awakens Romance or any of the characters mentioned in this fic.

**Notes: **Okay, some of you might have noticed that I upped the rating for this fanfic from K+ to T. The reason: This chapter. It may seem a bit extreme, but the story gets much darker and a bit violent from here so I changed the rating to be on the safe side. Yes, this chapter isn't going to be as happy-dandy as the previous ones…

Also, so so sorry for the delay. I've been pretty stressed lately, and stress does not make good fanfics. So I decided to wait until I was feeling better before I turned in this chapter. I hope the wait was worth it! (Fighting scenes do not translate well into words… gah…)

**Cinder-Aqua:**

**Part 8: The Truth**

Back on the mainland, Prince Galian, his servants, and Rolan had just finished rounding up the townsfolk into the castle. By now, most of the guards had awakened from the sleeping gas, and they were now helping to defend against the unrelenting shadow people.

Rolan looked towards the island with worry.

"You're worried about your friend, yes?" asked Galian.

"Y-yes, I'm worried about Nanashi…" replied Rolan. "I feel like I should be there with him, but I have to protect these citizens…"

"Don't worry." Said Galian, smiling. "I understand if you would rather be with your friend. After all, there is nothing stronger than the bond of friendship. We'll be able to handle it ourselves from here."

"Really?" asked Rolan happily. Galian nodded. With that, Rolan uttered a quick, "Thank you!" as he spread his wings and flew towards the island.

-----------------------------

Back on the island, Aqua and co. were standing in front of the large fortress which led inside to the castle. It was now closed.

"So what do we do now?" asked Loco.

"We charge the door!" said Dorothy. "1…2…3…GO!"

With that, all three girls rammed themselves against the door. Unfortunately, although the door was big, it required much less strength to open, and the force of the collision sent the door banging open with the girls falling flat on the ground. The noise surprised Rapunzel and Kimera, who rushed to the spot.

Rapunzel, upon spying the girl in the blue dress (a.k.a. Aqua), cried, "Aha! There you are, girlie! I've been waiting for your arrival!" (In case you've forgotten, Rapunzel still hasn't realized that the girl is Aqua, due to Dorothy's spell which takes the form of a red star on Aqua's face.)

"Rapunzel!" shouted Aqua, quickly getting up. "I won't let you take over this village! I won't let you hurt anymore people! I'll fight you one on one!"

"Um, Aqua…" said Loco, quickly. "You don't even know how to fight though, right?"

Aqua sweatdropped. "I-I'll try my best!"

"You'll get yourself killed…" muttered Dorothy under her breath.

Suddenly, there were shouts from up above.

"Look out below!"

It belonged to Ginta. He and the others were all riding on Flying Leo. Flying Leo landed gracefully next to Aqua, Loco, and Dorothy.

"It looks like you guys could use a little help!" said Jack.

"We're here to protect you, Aqua!" put in Snow.

"…" went Alviss.

"You guys came…" said Aqua happily. However, their reunion was short lived.

"I'll kill you all!" shouted Rapunzel, lunging for Aqua. Luckily, Dorothy was able to block her with the Zephyrus Broom.

"Aqua, run somewhere safe!" shouted Dorothy.

"But there's still that woman!" said Loco, pointing to Kimera. A vein popped in Kimera's head. She didn't really like being referred to as "that woman."

"We'll take care of her!" said Ginta. Suddenly, there came a low rattle from below.

"Eeek!" cried Snow, jumping aside, for on the spot she had been standing was a trap door. It slowly opened… and out popped Ian! He was covered in dust and dirt. He seemed bruised, but luckily, he was okay. Aqua recognized him instantly.

"Ah! You're Ian, yes?" she said.

"Where's Gido?" Ian asked hurriedly. Then, spying a dark form in the shadows between some pillars, he ran to it. "Gido!" However, Kimera stopped him.

"Don't worry, she's still alive." Said she. "But not for long…"

"Aqua!" shouted Ian. "Please take care of Gido for me."

With that, he and Kimera started fighting. Ian led Kimera away from where Gido's body was lying and into the courtyard. Dorothy and Rapunzel had begun fighting also. Aqua, Loco, and Ginta and co. rushed to Gido. She was still unconscious. Loco held her hand and felt her pulse.

"It's weak." She said. "She doesn't look good… Her face is pale. I doubt she will survive unless we do something quick."

"Water. We need to get her to water." Spoke up Alviss. "She's a mermaid. She constantly needs to be in the water, or else she'll dry up and die."

"Oh, that's horrible!" cried Snow.

"…Wait, how did you know that?" asked Ginta.

"I read it in a book once." Stated Alviss.

"…Can lamps even read?" asked Jack.

"It doesn't matter!" shouted Alviss. "The most important thing right now is to get her to water!"

Aqua looked around hurriedly. She spied a small pond in the distance. It wasn't much, but it would have to do.

"Quickly!" started Aqua. "Let's get her to that pond over there!"

With that, Ginta and co. helped Aqua and Loco to carry the mermaid to the pond. After she was put in, Snow remarked, "Look! Her color is coming back!"

"That's good to hear." Said Aqua, relieved. Then she turned back to look at the fierce battling that was going on. Dorothy seemed to be handling Rapunzel well, (even with her limited magic), but Ian was having a bit of trouble.

"We have to help them!" cried Aqua.

"But how?" asked Loco. "You and I don't exactly have the best fighting skills…"

"Don't worry!" put in Ginta. "We'll help them! You guys just stay here and look over Gido! C'mon guys!"

And so, Ginta and co. joined into the fray. Ginta and Alviss helped Ian fight Kimera, while Snow and Jack aided Dorothy in fighting Rapunzel. Aqua and Loco looked on from the sidelines as everyone else fought gallantly against the evil duo.

"Arg!" sobbed Aqua, kneeling down. "Why must I be so weak? If only I knew how to fight… If only I could lend a hand…"

"Aqua, it's not your fault…" comforted Loco. "Not everyone has a chance to train to become a fighter…" Then, looking from Aqua to the fight that was raging, Loco decided it was her turn to help, even if it wasn't much.

"Suitcase!" she shouted, raising her hand, which had a ring on it. The ring disappeared, and with a "poof," a suitcase appeared in front of Loco. Loco quickly grabbed it and ran to the battle zone (a.k.a., the courtyard). When she came to a spot that she thought was secluded enough, she stopped, dropped her suitcase to the ground, and quickly started opening the suitcase. However, as everyone was in the midst of battle, a beam of energy, shot by Kimera, accidently came hurtling her way. Luckily, Alviss noticed its unintended target, and quickly grabbed Loco and her suitcase out of the way in time.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you not to get in the way when adults are fighting?" he chided. Loco narrowed her eyes at him.

"Well, my mother also told me never to talk to inanimate objects either." She countered bitterly.

"…Touché."

As this was going on, Rapunzel and Kimera met up briefly.

"This is no use." Huffed Kimera, a great part of her energy already spent. "We can't continue like this, or we'll lose for sure."

"Is it time…" started Rapunzel. "To use **that**?"

"Not yet." Muttered Kimera. "Wait a little longer."

"Well, then what do you suggest we do?" demanded Rapunzel impatiently.

"Let's head inside the castle. It's like a labyrinth inside. I'm sure that at least SOME of our attackers will get lost. Not to mention all the traps that I installed…"

"Alright, then."

With that, the evil duo turned tail and ran deeper into the castle.

"Hey, they're running away!" shouted Jack. "Cowards!"

"Let's block them off before they get away!" shouted Ian, running towards the castle, but he was stopped by Dorothy.

"Wait. I'm sure that this must be some kind of trap." She said. "And besides, your girlfriend's safe now, isn't she?"

Ian looked towards Gido, who was beginning to regain consciousness.

"Yes, but…" started Ian. "…I still feel the need to defeat Kimera. Only then can her hunting ever cease."

"Don't worry!" spoke up Aqua. "I'll take care of Gido for you. At least, that's the only thing I can do…"

"And I'll stay and help." Put in Loco, slightly miffed that she didn't get a chance to show off some of her powers.

"Still, it's a bit too dangerous." Said Alviss. "After all, who knows what tricks Kimera is planning? If we all go after them, who'll watch after you two?"

Suddenly, the sound of wings was heard. Everyone looked up in surprise, as a young man with golden hair and pure white wings landed in their midst.

"…Ah, am I late?" asked Rolan, as his wings shrank and disappeared, except for the one adorning his right shoulder.

"Rolan!" cried Aqua, rushing over to him. "I'm glad you're safe…"

Rolan looked around.

"…Is…Is Nanashi not with you?" he asked sadly.

"He and I both came to the island safely." Started Ian. "However, we parted there. I went into a cave after Kimera, and he to Rapunzel. I'm sure that he could have taken on Rapunzel alone; however, as I was fighting Kimera, she escaped. If Nanashi were to face them both alone…"

Aqua gasped. Rolan looked down sadly.

"Well, like I've said before…" started Dorothy. "There's only one way to find out. I guess we'll have no choice but to chase after them."

"Me and Alviss will help Ian go after Kimera!" said Ginta.

"We'll help you against Rapunzel, Miss Dorothy!" said Snow and Jack together.

"I-I would like to help too." Stammered Rolan.

"Good, then you can stay here and make sure Aqua and Loco don't get hurt." Commanded Dorothy. Rolan seemed surprised by this command, but he agreed.

"All right then!" shouted Ginta. "Let's go!"

-----------------------------

"I hope they'll be okay…" said Aqua worriedly. She, Loco, and Rolan were sitting on the stones around the pond. Gido was now awake in the pond, and she sat in worry too. It had been an hour since the six entered the castle, and not a sound was heard.

"Don't worry, I'm sure they'll be fine." Said Loco. "After all, they've already faced off against Rapunzel once."

"Yeah, but that's not what I'm really worried about…" answered Aqua.

"You're worried about Nanashi-san, yes?" asked Rolan. Aqua looked up in surprise.

"How did you know?" she asked.

"Well, it's pretty obvious that you like him." Giggled Rolan. "And he likes you very much too."

Aqua blushed deeply at this statement, and then looked down at the ground.

-----------------------------

Deep inside the castle, Rapunzel and Kimera had met up to plan a way to defeat the six.

"What do we do now?" huffed Rapunzel angrily. She didn't like feeling vulnerable. "We're trapped inside this castle like rats in a cage! Your idea sucks!" Kimera glared at her with her one real eye.

"We could lead them to the mountain-top." She suggested. "I've gone up there once before—it's as flat as the floor we're standing on."

"How will that help?" asked Rapunzel agitatedly.

"Don't you know that not everyone has the same agility or speed?"

"What does that have to do with the situation we're in right now?" fumed Rapunzel. "I don't see what you're getting at. You better tell me now before I decide to kill you right here."

"If you kill me now, there will be no one else to help you." Said Kimera, who was starting to get rather annoyed herself. "And remember—patience is a virtue."

Rapunzel's temper rose, but she restrained herself. She also knew that it would be foolish to kill her only ally. After calming down a bit, she decided to ask again. "Okay, so what's your plan this time?"

"There is only one way to the mountain top from the castle." Responded Kimera calmly. "It's through a special door that I built with magic." Rapunzel raised her eyebrows.

"…And?" she asked.

"It's a door that will open and close only on my command." Continued Kimera. "It's also indestructible to all attacks from fighters with weaker magical power than I."

"So you want us to just run up there and take refuge?" asked Rapunzel. "That's not much of a plan."

"You guessed partially right. But no, that's not it." Said Kimera. "What I plan is that we'll stay there and wait. Since everyone varies in speed, we'll let the first person pass through the door, then I'll quickly close it…"

"And then we'll be able to pick them all off, one by one!" finished Rapunzel, finally getting it. "What a brilliant idea! Now where is that door?"

"It's near here." Replied Kimera. "Let's go quickly."

-----------------------------

Inside another part of the castle, the six members had been separated while in the labyrinth. The labyrinth was a large maze, with exits leading to different rooms. There was only one correct path that would lead to a stairway to the second story. From there, there were other smaller traps, but it was easier to navigate. It was in the second story that there would be another long stairway, this time leading to the magic door and out to the top of the mountain.

"Oh no…" muttered Snow. "Where did the others go…?"

She was currently in the castle bathrooms. The floor was composed of marble, that made a "tap, tap, tap" sound every time Snow took a step. There were many toilet stalls, and also a long row of sinks with silver taps. It was empty and cold. Snow shivered. Suddenly, there was a loud noise of rushing water coming from the many pipes that adored the walls. Then, without warning, one of the sinks turned on. Then another. And another. Then they all turned on, and the sinks started overflowing as water spilled onto the floor. Snow heard the clicking sound of a door locking behind her. She realized the trap too late.

"No!" she screamed, as she ran towards the door that she had come in through. It was obviously locked. There were no windows or openings in this room. The water was quickly rising, and if Snow didn't do something soon, she would drown.

-----------------------------

Elsewhere, Jack was wandering around a kitchen.

"Hmm, I wonder where the other guys went…" he said. "We were together just a second ago…"

Before he could say anymore, however, something flew at him. Jack had barely enough time to dodge the carving knife as it struck the opposite wall and stuck there. It had taken a piece of his shirt in its flight.

"What the heck?(!)" cried Jack, as he stared in alarm at the scene in front of him. The kitchen utensils had come alive by some magical force, and were now aiming straight for him.

"Someone save meeeee!" screeched Jack, as he ran around the kitchen, the kitchen utensils following with minds of their own, glinting murderously in the bright kitchen lights.

-----------------------------

Meanwhile, Ginta was currently trudging around in the grand castle dining room. There was a grand oak table in the middle, stretching at least 70 feet. There were empty suits of armor lining the walls, gleaming in the light. There was food loaded on the table, and Ginta looked hungrily at it.

"Don't eat it, you fool!" shouted Babbo the metal kendema. "It's a trap!"

"But I've always wanted to taste food…" moaned Ginta, Giromu's former teddy bear. "I wonder what it's like…"

With that, he plucked a grape from one of the fruit bowls and was about to pop it into his mouth, when suddenly, behind him, there were loud clanking noises.

"See? I told you it was a trap!" cried Babbo, looking at the suits of armor that had come alive. They wielded their swords and spears menacingly. Ginta seemed unfazed by this.

"You guys want to fight?" he asked. "Well, a fight is what I'll give!"

-----------------------------

In another part of the castle, Alviss had found himself in a library. It was furnished with tall shelves heaped with books, and there was a charming fireplace at the end of the room. Alviss was sifting through old scrolls, hoping to find a map of the layout of the castle. Suddenly, he heard a noise and stood up quickly. He looked up to see a lion with wings and a woman's head.

"A sphinx…" Alviss muttered as he stared at the creature in front of him. "What do you want?"

"If you can answer my riddle," said she; "Then I'll let you pass. But if you should fail, you will die."

"Fine with me."

-----------------------------

As all this was going on, Dorothy and Ian (who happened to meet up along the way), were able to get to the second story. They were now standing at the staircase leading to the mountain top, unaware of the evil plot that Kimera and Rapunzel had planned for them.

"The door is wide open—I'm sure they came up here only a while ago!" said Ian, running up the stairs toward the door.

"Wait!" cried Dorothy. "It could be a trap!"

But unfortunately, she was not able to catch up to him, and as Ian disappeared through the door, it suddenly closed. This only reinforced Dorothy's fears and she tried desperately to break open the door. She sensed that it was guarded with a strong magic, and only magic could counter it. However, by now, Dorothy magic supply was almost gone, and she didn't have enough needed to overpower the door. She stood helplessly by, as Ian went on the face the two evil hags alone.

"There you are!" he shouted, spying Rapunzel and Kimera standing in the middle of the mountaintop, looking perfectly calm.

"And you just fell into our trap!" cackled Rapunzel, amused.

"Don't just go telling it all away..." sighed Kimera.

Ian looked about him, and a sudden realization hit. Dorothy was no where in sight. He was all alone. He had indeed fallen into the trap.

"You…" he muttered angrily. "You cowards! Is this how you fight? Through dirty tricks?"

"It may be dirty, but it completes the task easily." Said Kimera.

With that, she and Rapunzel both attacked Ian at once, with their respective weapons.

-----------------------------

Down below, outside the castle, Aqua and co. were still sitting around. Suddenly, from up above, there was a loud cry.

"Ian!" gasped Gido, recognizing the voice.

"They're battling on the mountain top!" perceived Rolan.

"We need to help!" cried Aqua.

"…Leave it to me." Said Loco, unpacking her suitcase. The other three looked at her, puzzled, as she took out a large straw doll, some spikes, and a hammer.

"Ah, those are Darkness ÄRM…" said Rolan, his eyes widening. "They're really rare…"

"What?" asked Aqua. "I've heard of Battle ÄRM and Guardian ÄRM, but never Darkness ÄRM!"

"Darkness ÄRMs are very powerful ÄRM that cause deadly effects on their opponents." Started Gido. "However, as a price, the user is cursed whenever he or she uses it."

Aqua turned to look at Loco in worry.

"Yes, it's true." started Loco. "This ÄRM allows me to inflict pain on an opponent by driving these spikes into the doll. However, there is a drawback… Aqua—I think it's time I told you the truth about myself. Although I've always looked ten, in reality, I'm actually 32. The reason is… whenever I use this ÄRM, the price I pay is that it reverses my age."

Aqua gasped. "All this time, I thought you were just a slow grower…" said she.

"No." said Loco sadly, shaking her head. "The reason I've kept the same appearance for so long is because I still used the ÄRM sparingly. With each use, I am reversed back one year."

"Oh, Loco-chan…" sobbed Aqua, hugging Loco, as tears flowed out of her eyes. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I was afraid to tell you this, because I knew you'd be sad, Aqua." Replied Loco, who was on the verge of crying also. "Unfortunately, I haven't been keeping track of how many times I have used it, so I don't know how many more uses I am allowed before I disappear completely. But I am not afraid." With that, Loco broke away from Aqua and picked up a spike and hammer. "I'll use the ÄRM one last time to end this madness!"

She was about to strike the doll, but Aqua stopped her.

"Please don't!" she cried. "I don't want you to disappear! You're the only family I have left!"

"But Aqua…" started Loco, but she was interrupted by Rolan.

"Loco-san, it doesn't have to end this way, you know." Said he. "I'm sure we'll be able to defeat Rapunzel and Kimera without having to resort to Darkness ÄRMs!"

"He's right." Put in Gido. "Don't sacrifice yourself when you don't even know what will happen. Think of those who care for you; like Aqua."

Loco looked at Aqua again, who nodded.

"You don't have to use your ÄRM, Loco." Said Aqua. "Because I will personally go up there to face Rapunzel and Kimera myself!"

Loco was deeply touched. She dropped the spike and hammer to the floor, upon which they vanished.

"…I know I won't be able to stop you from fighting for your friends…" started Loco. "…So I'll just have to wish you good luck." With this, she smiled. "Please come back safely, Aqua. When we're all done with this, let's go home and start a new life."

Aqua nodded happily, whereupon she then turned to Rolan and said simply:

"Please take me up to the mountain top."

-----------------------------

Back with Alviss in the library, the Sphinx told her riddle.

"Think of words ending in –GRY. Angry and hungry are two of them. There are only three words in the English language. What is the third word? The word is something that everyone uses every day. If you have listened carefully, I have already told you what it is."

Alviss paced the floor of the library in thought for a few moments, and then he answered:

"Let's see… The first two sentences were only meant to throw me off. The real riddle is in the last four sentences. The key phrase is, 'the English language.' The third word is simply, 'language,' and it is something everyone uses everyday. Therefore, that is the answer!"

The sphinx growled angrily. He was correct.

"You are correct." Said she. "Very well; I shall let you pass. Since you have solved my riddle, you are also allowed to ask one favor of me as a reward."

"The only thing I want is a map of the layout of this castle." Stated Alviss.

"Your request is granted." Said the Sphinx, bowing.

With a "poof," a worn map appeared in Alviss's hand, as the Sphinx disappeared. Armed with this new information, Alviss quickly went in search of his three other friends.

-----------------------------

Back in the dining hall, Ginta was successful in fighting off the empty suits of armor, and was standing on top of a giant heap of armor parts, victorious.

"Hey, there's a double door over there." Noted Babbo.

"Let's check it out!" exclaimed Ginta, still having an adrenaline rush from the fight. With that, he opened the door, which led into the kitchen.

"…Jack?(!)" cried Ginta and Babbo simultaneously. For in a nearby corner, there he was, donning a pan for a helmet, covered with bruises, and wielding his battle shovel in fear.

"Hey Jack! What are you doing?" asked Ginta. It didn't take long before he found out, however, as the evil utensils started lunging for him also.

"RUN FOR THE HILLS!" cried Babbo, as the two boys screamed and quickly ran towards another exit. Having gotten outside the kitchen, the two boys quickly closed the doors and backed away quickly, as knives, forks, and spoons tried to force their way through.

"That was a close one…" sighed Jack, relieved. "If I had stayed in their any longer, they would have made clay dust out of me!"

"Hey Jack…" huffed Ginta, who was out of breath. "Do you know where Snow and Alviss went?"

"No, I got lost along the way…" replied Jack.

"Don't worry; I'm sure we'll all meet up with them later when we face off against those two ugly women." Said Babbo. "Let's go!"

-----------------------------

"Iced Earth!" shouted Snow, freezing all the water and the door of the bathroom. She then attempted to break it open, but it was still too strong and heavy for her. Suddenly, from the other side, there came a voice: "Thirteen Totem Pole!"

Suddenly, the door burst open, and standing in front of Snow was none other than…

"Alviss!" cried Snow happily.

"We must hurry and go up to the mountain top." Said Alviss. "I have a bad feeling that something is going to go terribly wrong…"

-----------------------------

Back on the mountaintop, Rolan had just landed, carrying Aqua with him.

"Ian!" cried Aqua, running over to the fallen figure. He was covered in blood and large gashes.

"I'm… no use…" muttered Ian weakly. "I… can't…defeat them…"

"That doesn't make you useless!" cried Aqua as she held Ian in her arms. "There's no way that you could have beaten those two on your own!"

"Speaking of which…" spoke up Rolan. "Where are the others?"

Ian pointed weakly towards the ornate door, before passing out from his injuries.

"Ian!" shouted Aqua.

"It's too late now." Cackled Rapunzel. "He'll die before you can even reach the mainland to heal him!" Rapunzel continued laughing gleefully while Kimera stood unfazed beside her. Aqua laid Ian down and stood up quietly.

"Rolan, please take care of Ian for me." Said she. Rolan nodded, and, taking Ian up, he flew back down to the courtyard. This left Aqua alone on the mountaintop. Then, turning to the evil duo, she said, "I-I-I won't forgive you for this!"

"That's some loud bark coming from a small dog like you." Spat Rapunzel. "Where are your friends to save you now?"

"We're right here!" came a voice.

Everyone turned to look at the door in surprise, upon which it burst open, revealing Ginta, Snow, Jack, Alviss, and Dorothy. They had all met up and had combined their powers to break the magic seal on the door.

"Did you miss me?" said Ginta, as Rapunzel and Kimera stared in shock.

"Dammit! I thought you said your plan was fail proof!" screeched Rapunzel angrily, glaring at Kimera. She would have killed Kimera right then and there if she wasn't in such a need for her help.

"I'm just as surprised as you are…" muttered Kimera, agitated. She was on the edge of murdering her ally also.

"The road ends here, hags!" shouted Dorothy, pointing her broom in their direction.

"Yeah, with all six of us against them two, they'll never stand a chance!" put in Jack enthusiastically.

"It's time to use **that**, Kimera." ordered Rapunzel.

"Fine." Mumbled Kimera, ripping the cover off of something large that the others had not noticed before. They all gasped in surprise at what they saw.

"NANASHI!!!" cried Aqua, horror-struck.

-----------------------------

Back in the castle courtyard, Loco, Rolan, and Gido were doing their best to tend to Ian's wounds.

"I'd say that he has about a 50/50 chance of surviving." Said Loco.

Gido looked at her lover sadly. Rolan let out a long sigh. Loco shook her head. However, these three didn't have time to be sad for long…

"You guys are pathetic." Said a voice coming from the castle doorways. The three looked up in surprise at the intruder.

"Giromu!" cried Loco.

"Where's my sister?" Giromu demanded. He had recovered from his battle with Ginta and co. and was now looking for revenge.

"She's up there." Pointed Loco to the mountain top. "If that is all you wished to know, then please leave us in peace."

"Ha, no way I'd leave you guys in peace." Responded Giromu. "Since I'm pretty sure my sister's up there fighting her best, I'll give it my all in fighting you guys too!"

"Please, let's not fight!" cried Rolan. "Don't you see that we have an injured man here?"

"I don't care. I'll make my sister proud by beating the likes of you!"

Loco sighed. "He'll never learn, will he?" she said, picking up her hammer to use it in defense while Rolan summoned his rapier whip.

-----------------------------

Back on the mountain top, Aqua and co. were staring in shock horror at what Kimera had unveiled. It was a large crystal, and in the midst of that crystal was Nanashi, the thief. He was trapped in the crystal standing upright, with his eyes closed.

"Isn't that just a beautiful sight?" cackled Rapunzel evilly. "Oh, but I must warn you all… Although his heart rate is slowed while he's trapped, he still can't breathe—so of course he'll die eventually."

"You…YOU HAG!" shouted Jack, lunging towards Rapunzel.

"Jack—wait!" cried Dorothy, but it was too late. Kimera countered with her ghost tail, spearing Jack through the stomach.

"JACK!" cried Ginta, Snow, and Alviss together.

"…I'm… sorry that I not able to protect you anymore… Aqua…" said Jack, as he turned back into a flower pot, upon which it shattered into pieces.

"Jack… No!!!" cried Aqua, bursting into tears.

"We must avenge Jack!" shouted Ginta, fury in his eyes.

"Yes!" yelled Snow and Alviss, upon which all three launched into battle against the two women.

As the battle started once again, Dorothy took a quick glance toward Aqua, who was on the floor, sobbing. Dorothy looked at the young girl sadly, but she knew that she couldn't be sad for long, for there was still another life to save. Seeing that Rapunzel and Kimera were distracted, Dorothy flew towards the large crystal were Nanashi was encased, and began hacking at it the best that she could.

"Damn… it…" muttered Dorothy under her breath. "If only… If only I had my full power, then none of this would have happened…"

Back on the castle grounds, Rolan was fighting against Giromu, while Loco was doing her best to defend Gido and the passed-out Ian from attacks. Rolan was unable to use his full strength for fear of harming the others, while Giromu pressed on with crazed attacks.

Back on the mountain top, Ginta and co. weren't doing so well. Emotionally shaken and tired, the three just could not defeat Rapunzel and Kimera. However, neither could they, who were both equally exhausted. At a chance glance, Rapunzel suddenly spotted Aqua. Aqua, whose crying had washed away the red star which was Dorothy's spell, was now fully visible to her step-mother. Rapunzel stared in shock, as things slowly came together.

"You!" she screeched. "Cinder-Aqua! So it was you who ruined my chances of becoming a queen in the first place!"

Aqua, Dorothy, Ginta, Snow, and Alviss stopped what they had been doing due to surprise.

"Y-Yes…" muttered Aqua. "It was me who went to the ball last week, and it was me who came to the ball on this night. All along, that girl in the fancy blue dress whom you hated was me."

Rapunzel became enraged by this.

"How dare you! After all that I've done for you!" She screeched, sending her sharp hairs toward the defenseless girl. But the hairs never hit their intended target, for Ginta, Snow, and Alviss sacrificed themselves as a human shield.

"No! Nooo!" cried Aqua, as the three collapsed to the ground.

"It was fun while it lasted…" said Ginta with ragged breath. "Please take care of Babbo for me…"

"Yeah… It was a pleasure meeting you…" put in Alviss.

"Goodbye, Aqua…" said Snow. "We love you…"

With that, the three returned to their original forms, and then broke.

"Noooo!" sobbed Aqua, holding the broken objects, her tears dripping onto them.

"Aqua, I know this may sound harsh—but pull yourself together!" This was said by Dorothy, who had just landed near Aqua's side.

"She's right." Said Babbo, who was on the ground next to Aqua. "You must be strong in the face of danger and defeat, little lady."

"Y-you're right…" said Aqua shakily, slowly getting up. "I can't just sit here and cry, when all my friends sacrificed themselves for my sake. I must rise up and avenge them!"

"That's the spirit, Aqua!" said Dorothy happily. "I'll take on Kimera. I think that you and Rapunzel need to sort things out on your own." With that, Dorothy started towards Kimera, leaving Aqua and Rapunzel to duke it out.

"I'm not afraid of you anymore, step-mother!" shouted Aqua. "Akko-chan!" Aqua summoned the clam-like creature to her side, while Rapunzel looked on undaunted. "Go, Akko-chan! Charge!" With that, Akko-chan rushed towards Rapunzel, but she dodged easily.

"Is that all you've got, Cinder-Aqua?" said she.

"Pearl Attack!" shouted Aqua, which caused Akko-chan to unleash a bout of fast flying pearls towards Rapunzel.

"Eeek!" Rapunzel screeched, unable to dodge all of them, and being sorely hit by many. "Alright then, that's the last straw! Kimera! Combine your powers with mine and let's end this!"

"What?(!)" cried Dorothy, who had been doing battle with Kimera. "Is that even possible?"

Kimera was reluctant to do so, but, seeing that her fight with the witch was getting no where, decided to follow through. The two evil women used all that was left of their magical power to summon the fiercest Guardian ÄRM they had—Chimaira. The skies turned even darker than before and hid the moon, as ominous purple clouds swirled around the castle.

Back at the castle on the mainland, King Galian looked up towards the sky suddenly.

"What's wrong, your highness?" asked Magical Rou.

"There's something wrong in the air… I can feel it." Replied Galian.

"Eep, look at the shadow people!" cried Edward. "They're being sucked up into that hole in the sky!"

Back on the island, Loco was looking towards the sky also.

"Oh dear, this is bad; very very bad…" said she.

"What? What's going on?" asked Gido, who was holding Ian in her arms.

Even Rolan and Giromu stopped their fighting to look at the spectacle in the sky.

"It looks as if they're summoning something…" said Rolan.

"Sister!" cried Giromu, worried.

Back on the mountaintop, Dorothy and Aqua too were looking up. The clouds spiraled around, as some dark, hideous creature began descending from a black hole into their world.

"…Aqua, I have a confession to make…" started Dorothy. "I know this might be sudden, but… I'm not really your fairy godmother."

"Eh?" said Aqua, surprised. "Well, it doesn't matter. You still have very strong magical power! I'm sure that you can defeat that creature!"

"…Not really. The truth is; I'm just a witch from a faraway kingdom. I was banished for a crime, and I couldn't return home until I had completed a hundred good deeds. Unfortunately, I only had a limited amount of magic to go on, and I'm almost out. I don't know if I'll have enough to defeat this monster… So I just wanted to say… Sorry. I guess I was just using you to complete my good deeds."

"That's alright, Dorothy-san." Said Aqua. "You weren't using me. You helped me a lot, in fact. You allowed me to go to the ball. That was the happiest moment of my life. And don't worry; I'm sure that everything will be alright in the end!"

"Yeah… I guess." Said Dorothy, turning towards the hideous creature in the distance.

"Isn't this great!" said Rapunzel to Kimera. "With this, we'll be able to conquer the world!"

"What should we test this on first?" asked Kimera.

"…I know! The mainland!"

With that, they commanded Chimaira to blast a huge beam of energy towards the small seaside village. Everyone on the island looked towards the mainland in shock horror, dreading that their beautiful village would be destroyed right before their eyes. However, suddenly, there was a bright burst of light as the beam collided against an invisible wall.

"Dorothy!" cried Aqua.

Indeed it was. Dorothy was using the last of her magic power to form a barrier around the village.

"I don't care if I die in the process…" said Dorothy, huffing. "As long as I can save this village, I'll be happy. I guess this is my punishment also…"

Luckily, the barrier was successful in blocking the attack. Even more fortunate, the barrier reflected the attack back at the monster, killing it in the process. However, Dorothy was now drained of all her energy, and landed in a heap at the island castle courtyard, where Loco and Rolan rushed to her side. Also, the reflected energy was so great that it shook the whole island, causing a huge earthquake.

"This is all your fault!" shouted Rapunzel over the noise of the quake. "If it weren't for your lame monster, this wouldn't have happened!"

"This is your fault, also." Huffed Kimera angrily, her strength gone from all the battles and creature summoning. "If you weren't so weak, we might have beaten these brats by now!"

Rapunzel did not take this statement lightly. In anger, she shoved Kimera down into a large crack that had opened up in the ground on the mountaintop. She then turned her sights onto Aqua. Using what was left of her strength, she lunged towards the girl, screaming, "YOU DIE NOW!"

Seeing this, Aqua decided that it was time to end this, once and for all. She hopped into Akko-chan, whereupon the clam closed up. It then started spinning rapidly, heading straight for Rapunzel. Rapunzel, in her mad dash, wasn't able to dodge, and, being hit full on by the force, she fell backwards, into the very crack that she had just shoved Kimera into. And with that, she was never seen again.

**To Be Continued…**

**Random notes:**

"_Suitcase!" she shouted, raising her hand, which had a ring on it. The ring disappeared, and with a "poof," a suitcase appeared in front of Loco._: Arg… Okay, I had most of this story planned out by the fifth chapter, and I was meaning for Loco to be carrying her suitcase when she and Dorothy ride on the broom to meet Aqua at the castle. HOWEVER, it slipped my mind when writing the actual chapter in which the scene took place, and I only just now noticed it. It's too late for me to try to change it, since most people have already read said chapter, and would be confused if I changed now. So, I did the next best thing—I improvised.

"_Think of words ending in –GRY. Angry and hungry are two of them. There are only three words in the English language. What is the third word? The word is something that everyone uses every day. If you have listened carefully, I have already told you what it is."_: No, I did not make this riddle up. (I'm not clever enough to…) I actually found it on the internet. I wanted a riddle that was complex to make Alviss look really smart. I give kudos to anyone who actually solved it on their own.

Only one more chapter before this story finally ends!


	9. Part 9: The End

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Marchen Awakens Romance or any of the characters mentioned in this fic.

**Cinder-Aqua:**

**Part 9: The End**

"Yay!" cried everyone when they saw that Rapunzel had fallen into the crack and into eternal doom. Unfortunately, the earthquake was so large that it caused the whole island to sink into the sea, causing a massive tsunami that swallowed the whole mainland and all of its people.

And everyone died. The end.

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**JUST KIDDING!**

**Note: **Seriously, though; if I had ended the story like that, you all would chase me down with torches and pitchforks… Okay, for real this time!

**Cinder-Aqua:**

**Part 9: The End**

The earthquake stopped as suddenly as it had started. However, it caused the mountain top to crumble so that it was now level with the castle. Fortunately for Loco, Rolan, Gido, Ian, and Dorothy, the castle on the island had sheltered them from the falling rocks caused by the earthquake. Unfortunately, the castle was now also in ruins.

"Aqua!" cried Loco. "Where are you?"

"I'm…here…" came a voice from the rubble of fallen rocks.

Ian and Dorothy, who were now somewhat recovered, helped Loco and Rolan to dig through the rubble. They soon unearthed a large clam, which then opened up to reveal Aqua, safe and sound inside.

"Oh Aqua! I'm so glad you're safe!" sobbed Loco, hugging her.

"Congratulations kiddo." Said Dorothy, patting Aqua on the back. "You've just saved the world."

"…I don't feel like I did…" said Aqua sadly. "I couldn't even save my friends or even the person that I loved…"

Suddenly, there were more sounds of moving rocks nearby. Rolan approached the group of rocks carefully, and then shouted, "Hey, there's another person buried here!"

With that the four others (Aqua included), began to dig up this second person, only to find…

"Kimera?(!)" cried Aqua, as she and the others jumped back in surprise.

Kimera was mortally wounded and barely alive. She was covered in cuts and was breathing heavily.

"Kimera, are you alright?" asked Aqua in worry. "Don't worry; we'll take you back to the mainland! They'll heal you there…"

"No… It's too late for me." Said Kimera simply. "I won't live much longer…"

"But…" said Aqua. "But…"

"She's right, Aqua." Put in Loco. "She's at the end of her rope…"

Aqua turned to look sadly at Kimera.

"Ha… You even cry for your enemies…" said Kimera, laughing weakly.

"No one deserves death, no matter how evil they are…" Said Aqua.

"Well I do…" muttered Kimera. "I've done so many bad things in my lifetime, I doubt that I'll even have rest in the afterlife…"

"…If I may ask…" started Ian slowly, wondering if it was a good time to bring his question up. "Why did you start hunting mermaids in the first place?"

"She told me everything."

This was said by Gido. Everyone turned to look at her. Gido then related all that she had heard of Kimera's history. Everyone just listened in silence and awe.

"But…" started Loco. "How did you get all those scars on your face?"

"I don't know… She never told me." Replied Gido, to which Kimera replied:

"Do you really want to know?"

"Please, Kimera, you shouldn't be talking…" said Rolan, but Kimera continued on.

"After I found out that my husband died…" said she; "I didn't want to live anymore. I… I jumped off of a cliff and into the sea. But even that wouldn't kill me. All it left was these scars that you know see on my face. After that, well… You know what happened."

As Kimera finished, everyone just stood and stared in stunned silence.

"I'm so sorry to hear that…" said Aqua.

"Don't be." Said Kimera simply. "I'm getting just what I deserve. By the way…I saved what was left of your friends for you…"

With that, Kimera drew out what appeared to be a broken lamp, teacup, flower pot, and a ripped teddy bear from inside her robe. Aqua took it gratefully.

"And the man that we trapped… Nanashi was his name, right? Well, he's over there…" Kimera pointed towards the distance, and indeed the large crystal was there, with Nanashi still trapped inside it, safe and sound.

"I thought that's the least I could do after all I've done to you…" wheezed Kimera. "Now let me die in peace…"

With that, Kimera took her last breath—and died.

Aqua sobbed, while the others looked on sadly, doing their best to suppress their tears. After a moment of silence, Aqua finally stood up and went over to the crystal where Nanashi was still trapped.

"Do you think… Do you think that we're too late?" asked Rolan sadly.

"If only I still had some of my magic power…" sighed Dorothy.

"Nanashi…" sobbed Aqua quietly. "I'm sorry that I couldn't save you. …I love you…"

With that, she hugged the crystal tightly, sobbing. It began to glow a bright blue, and Aqua stepped back, surprised.

"What's going on?" asked Loco, rushing to Aqua's side.

"I think it's breaking!" said Ian, who was both shocked and awed.

The crystal began to disintegrate, and soon it had all disappeared, leaving behind the thief in its place.

"Nanashi?" asked Aqua tentatively, whereupon the thief smiled.

"I'm alright, Aqua." Said he.

"Nanashi!" cried Aqua happily, hugging him. Tears of joy flowed out of her eyes.

"Yay!" shouted Rolan, as Dorothy, Loco, Ian, and Gido looked on happily.

Back on the mainland, Prince Galian and his two servants were looking towards the island. The ominous dark clouds had disappeared, revealing a lovely sunrise.

"It's so beautiful!" cried Edward, wiping tears from his eyes.

"Do you think they're alright?" asked Magical Rou.

"Well, from the looks of it…" started Galian, smiling. "I'm sure they're doing just fine."

Back on the island, Aqua and co. were merry as can be.

"Oh!" cried Dorothy in surprise, as her gold wristband disappeared in a poof. "Ah! My punishment is over!" Said she happily, as she felt all her magic returning. "But… I don't remember completing the rest of the deeds…"

"You did, Dorothy!" said Aqua. "You saved all those people! For each person saved, that's one deed that you've completed!"

"Well… I guess you're right!" said Dorothy happily. "And since I'm in a good mood…"—Here she turned to Gido—"I'll help you to become human!"

With that, Dorothy held out Gido's sea shell charm that she (Dorothy) had found and began muttering some words. A bright light engulfed the charm and then disappeared. Dorothy then tossed it to Gido.

"There!" said Dorothy, winking. "As long as you wear that, you'll become human, with absolutely no time limit!"

"T-thank you, Dorothy-san!" said Gido happily, putting it on. Immediately, a bright light surrounded her, and where she had fins, there were now legs. She was also now wearing a simple orange gown. She and Ian embraced happily.

"And what would you like, Aqua-chan?" asked Dorothy, turning towards Aqua.

"I think you already know what I want." Said Aqua, holding up the broken objects. Dorothy muttered a quick spell, and soon, the objects were as good as new.

"I'm sorry that I can't make them human forever…" said Dorothy apologetically. "Not even I have enough magical power to turn inanimate objects fully human. However, these are very special objects because they have a soul. And the reason they have one is because of your love for them."

"That means we can still speak to you, Aqua!" came Ginta's voice from the Teddy Bear.

"Yes, we'll protect you forever!" came Jack's voice from the flower pot.

"We'll listen to you always!" came Snow's voice from the tea cup.

"…Please continue taking good care of us." came Alviss's voice from the lamp.

Aqua hugged the objects happily, then muttered a tearful, "Thank you," to Dorothy.

"No prob, kiddo." Said Dorothy. "Well…I should get back home now. I'm sure that people there are waiting for me. So long!"

With that, she hopped on her broom and flew away, as everyone waved goodbye from the ground.

"Please visit us whenever you can!" shouted Aqua.

"I will!" replied Dorothy, before disappearing out of sight.

"…That was one heck of an adventure, wasn't it?" said Loco after a moment's silence.

"Ah!" cried Rolan suddenly. "Where's that boy I was fighting?"

"Oh, Giromu!" said Loco, looking around quickly.

"Giromu was here?" asked Aqua surprised.

"Yeah, he WAS here…" said Loco. "I think he must have run away when that quake started…"

"What will we tell him about Rapunzel?" asked Aqua worriedly. "He'll be devastated when he finds out…"

"Ugh, I don't want to think of that now…" put in Loco. "Let's just go home and start a new life."

"…By the way, Loco…" started Aqua. "Since when have you stopped referring to yourself in third person?"

"Meh, I guess I just got tired of it." Replied Loco, as everyone made their way across the ice bridge back to the mainland.

-----------------------------

_One year later…_

"Your highness, your highness!" cried Ed. "We should hold a ball so that you can find the perfect queen!"

"Yes, your highness;" put in Rou. "It's been one year already, and you still haven't married!"

"Well, I like it that way." Stated Galian flatly. "Although I know your hearts are in the right place, Ed and Rou; I just want to pick a wife on my own. Is that alright?"

"…Well…" said Ed.

"I guess so…" finished Rou dejectedly.

_Even after one year since the whole "ball fiasco," Prince (now King) Galian still hasn't married yet. Who knows if he ever will, but one thing's for sure—he'll never let his servants try to help him in picking a spouse ever again._

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"Have you caught anything?" asked Gido to Ian. Gido was currently inside a hut, stirring some stew.

"Yup." Said Ian happily, holding up a string of fish that he had caught that day.

_Ever since Gido had been turned into a human permanently, she and Ian had been living together in a little hut that they had built near the sea. They did not make much money, but they were still happy to be able to be together._

"I've also brought something else back with me…" said Ian, bringing out a small box from behind his back.

"Oh, Ian, you shouldn't have…" gasped Gido, as Ian opened the box, revealing a small golden ring.

"Gido…" said Ian, bending down on one knee. "Will you marry me?"

"Of course." Answered Gido happily.

-----------------------------

"But it was just one little ÄRM!" cried a young man who had been brought into Kaldea's grand palace. "I was going to return it, anyway…"

"It doesn't matter," said a familiar voice coming from a familiar pink-haired witch. "You still have to face the consequences for stealing! Your punishment is to do a hundred good deeds! You will be banished from here until you have finished your punishment! You are allowed to bring any personal items along with you if you wish, but you will only have a limited supply of magic to go on. Please use it wisely. Buh-bye!"

As the man was dragged away, the Grand Elder turned to Dorothy, saying, "Good job, Dorothy. Well said."

"Thank you, Grand Elder." Replied Dorothy, smiling.

_Now that it has been a year since Dorothy's punishment and return, she has been fully forgiven for her crime, and has now been appointed by the Grand Elder to a high position in Kaldea due to her experiences._

"You know, Grand Elder," Started Dorothy; "I really learned a lot last year during the time that I was punished. I learned that magic isn't the greatest thing in the world, and that you can achieve a lot of things without it."

"See?" said the Elder. "Just like I told you."

"However…" continued Dorothy. "There's something that still bugs me… I've always wondered why the crystal that Nanashi was trapped in just broke suddenly. I was sure that he'd be a goner for sure!"

"What do you think caused the spell to break?" asked the Elder.

"Well..." said Dorothy in thought. "It could have been because Kimera died; or it could have been because of Aqua's love for Nanashi. What do you think?"

"Hmm…" muttered the Grand Elder. "I guess it could have been a little bit of both."

"…I guess you're right." Agreed Dorothy, smiling.

-----------------------------

_Back on the mainland…_

"Three orders of strawberry shortcake!" said Loco who was standing in front of a cash register in a large, very pink shop.

"Aye aye, ma'm!" came Rolan's voice from the kitchen.

_Since Rapunzel's demise, Aqua and Loco inherited their family's fortune and used it to build a new home and a new shop. It was a sort of bakery, flower shop, and café rolled into one. Aqua and Loco manned the cash register and arranged flowers while Nanashi and Rolan did the baking._

"How I miss stealing stuff…" mumbled Nanashi, stirring the batter for more cakes.

"Oh don't say that!" said Rolan. "It's lucky that we even got off the way we did…"

_After returning to the mainland one year ago, Nanashi and Rolan confessed to being thieves in front of Prince Galian. Aqua knew that at heart, Nanashi wasn't really a bad person, so she begged the Prince to forgive the two. Galian agreed, since they had helped to save his kingdom and the entire world. He let them off with only a warning; that if they should steal again, he wouldn't be so kind next time. Ever since then, Nanashi and Rolan have shed their bad ways, and had begun working with Aqua and Loco to make money the honest way._

"Still…" continued Nanashi, whining; "That doesn't mean I still don't miss stealing…"

"But at least you have Aqua, right?" added Rolan.

"Yeah, I guess." Said Nanashi, grinning like a Cheshire cat.

"Good work, guys!" said Aqua, coming into the kitchen after finishing some flower orders. "It's time for lunch!"

With that, Loco came in with a large tray of sandwiches.

"Yay!" shouted Nanashi and Rolan together. The four went to a small table nearby, where Nanashi and Rolan proceeded to eat rapidly.

"Aqua, aren't you going to eat?" asked Loco, picking up a sandwich from the tray.

"I'll be just a minute!" said Aqua, flouncing off.

She came to a stop in front of a glass cabinet, which had a teddy bear, a teacup, a flowerpot, and a lamp in it.

"How are you guys today?" asked Aqua.

"Great as ever, Aqua!" said Ginta's voice.

"And you look very well too, Miss Aqua!" said Snow's voice.

"It's a nice day, isn't' it?" asked Jack's voice.

"…" went Alviss.

"Oh Alviss, you're the greatest lamp ever!" teased Aqua, to which Alviss's voice cried angrily; "WHAT?(!)"

The other inanimate objects laughed, as Aqua went back to the table for lunch, and Alviss the lamp gave the most threatening glare that a lamp could give.

_And so, Aqua lived happily from then on. Giromu was never found, although Aqua was a little sad to hear that. (Loco, however, thought that it was better that way.) The four inanimate objects that had served Aqua so faithfully were placed on display in the shop, and Aqua treasured them forever. Oh yeah—And Alviss the lamp was always kept clean everyday, as long as Aqua lived._

**THE END.**

Notes: Oh my gosh, I actually finished this, making this the first story that I've ever completed that had more than one chapter! ((fanfare)) Well, it was really fun writing this, even through there were times where I wanted to give up on it. In the end, though, I'm glad that I stuck with it. I hope you enjoyed reading this fanfic as much as I did writing it. I don't plan on writing any more MÄR fics, but who knows?

Oh, and sorry if the ending was kind of cheesy… But would you expect any other ending from a parody/comedy? Sorry for not being able to include all the characters in MÄR, either. There are A LOT of characters, and my fanfic would have been even longer if I had tried giving cameos to every single one…

And for those who wonder why I haven't changed this story's status to "complete"—well, I want to make this fanfic have an even number of chapters, so I'm going to make an omake! See you next time!


	10. Part 10: The Omake!

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Marchen Awakens Romance or any of the characters mentioned in this fic.

**Notes:** I'm sorry that this took so long… Urk. I didn't think that senior year would soak up all my free time. And they said that senior year was supposed to be easy, pah. THOSE LIARS!

**Cinder-Aqua:**

**Part 10: The Omake!**

Chibichurro: Hiya all! It's me, the author speaking! You can all call me Chibi, or Chi for short. For this omake, expect lots of fun things! But first, let me answer a few questions.

_Will there be a sequel to this?_ Probably not. I think the ending is pretty complete, don't you think?

_Will you be writing another MAR fairy tale based fanfic?_ This one gets a big "maybe." It all really depends on how much free time I have. Plus, I have to find some other fairy tale to inspire me first! (If I ever do this, I want to use one of those fairy tales that not many people know about, or something from Asian culture.)

_Will you be writing another (general) MAR fic?_ Again, I don't know. If I ever write another MAR fic, it'd probably be another fairy tale parody, because those are fun.

Also, about the ending… Aqua and Nanashi didn't get married (yet), for those who were wondering. Yeah, they're just basically in a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship. After all, not all heroines have to get married to be happy, right?

Okay, now for the fun stuff! First off, character interviews, starting with Aqua and Loco!

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Chi: Okay guys, what are your views on this whole story?

Aqua: I thought it was a really cute idea! I was so surprised that I got cast as the main character!

Loco: …It was alright.

Chanton: (bursts in out of nowhere) Why wasn't **I** in the story, nyaan?

Loco: Thank goodness you weren't. You'd have annoyed half the cast if you were.

Chanton: (on the verge of tears)

Aqua: Loco, that was mean!

Chi: I'm sorry, Chanton, I just couldn't find a way to fit you in the story, since you ARE a cat girl and all.

Chanton: But what about that Gido girl? She got to be a fish girl!

Loco: Mermaid. You mean mermaid.

Chi: …Well…

Chanton: I DEMAND a re-write!

Chi: Well, I gotta go interview more cast members! (rushes off)

Chanton: Hey, wait--!

Chi: (In another room) Phew, that was close… So! Ginta and co., what did you guys think?

Ginta: It was awesome! I got to be a teddy bear! And I got to taunt Giromu! And I got to fight things! And, and—

Babbo: (uses his body to knock Ginta aside) **I** should have been the prince!

Snow: What? You? But you're a kendema!

Babbo: It doesn't matter! My handsome-ness should more than overcompensate for that fact!

Ginta: (shoves Babbo out of the way angrily) Just be glad you were even in the story at all! Chi wouldn't even have cast you if her friend hadn't put you in the RP!

Babbo: Say what!

(They both begin fighting)

Chi: (over commotion) So… What did you three think of it?

Snow: Oh, it was wonderful! I'm so glad I could get a major part!

Jack: Me too!

Alviss: The only complaint I have is that there was too much picking on me. Also—why in the MÄR heaven did I have to be a lamp?

Chi: Uh, well… My friend was the one that made you into a lamp!

Anu: (appears in a puff of white smoke) No I didn't. You were the one who made them all into inanimate objects. (poofs out)

Alviss: …Well?

Chi: Uh… (sweatdrops) I need to go interview more people! Seeya! (rushes off)

Alviss: Chicken.

Chi: (over her shoulder as she rushes away) LAMP BOY!

Alviss: WHAT?(!) (angry glare)

(In yet ANOTHER room…)

Chi: What did you think of the story?

Rapunzel: It was horrendous! Absolutely awful! Two thumbs WAY down!

Giromu: Yeah! What sis said!

Chi: (rolls eyes) You two only say that 'cause you're bitter about getting killed.

Rapunzel: Damn right!

Giromu: …But… I didn't get killed.

Chi: (under breath) I should have killed him, shouldn't I?

Giromu: What?

Chi: Nothing! Well, Kimera, what do you think?

Kimera: I have nothing to add.

Chi: Well, if that's the case—(turns to another group composed of Galian, Nanashi, Rolan, Mokku, and Chapu) What did you guys think of it?

Nanashi: I liked it! (Cheshire cat grin)

Galian: Typical. You only liked it because you got a girl at the end.

Nanashi: Well, you got to be prince, at least!

Rolan: I didn't like being the loot carrier, but other than that, I thought it was really good!

Chapu: Aww, I only got two lines!

Mokku: …I didn't even get to speak…

Chi: …I'm sorry guys. (sweatdrop) If I ever make another story, I'll give you guys more lines. Maybe… (turns) And hey! There's Dorothy and her guardian ÄRM! What did YOU think of the story?

Dorothy: Did Dorothy-chan really have to be a mean old witch that steals ÄRM? Couldn't you have portrayed me more realistically?

Chi: I dunno, that seems pretty in-character for you actually—

Dorothy: (DEATH GLARE)

Chi: …Eep! Er, I mean, yeah; sorry that I portrayed you in that way. But it all turned out okay in the end, right?

Dorothy: Yeah, I guess…

Toto: I didn't like my part. It made me look like a coward. And I am NOT allergic to bees!

Chi: Sorry, but I HAD to make something up. It's called, you know, plot device?

Crazy Kilt: I got a part in the story, but why didn't I get any time to sing?

Chi: Because it was unnecessary!

Crazy Kilt: (offended) My singing is ALWAYS necessary!

Chi: Okay, I THINK that's all the characters…

Ian: You forgot about me and Gido!

Chi: Oh, sorry! So what did you guys think of it?

Ian: Well, as long as I got paired with Gido, I'm happy.

Gido: Though the part at the end was a bit much.

Chi: What? You mean the whole "getting married" part?

Ian and Gido: (blushes)

Chi: What's wrong with that? You two would make a cute couple!

Ian and Gido: (blushes harder)

Edward and Magical Rou: (comes in out of nowhere) Don't forget us!

Edward: My view on the story is that I get abused too much. Really now; getting kicked all over the place by Rou, and having to get hit by the flying slipper!

Magical Rou: I have no complaints here! I liked my part! (kicks Ed)

Edward: (angrily) Hey! You're doing it again!

Chi: (sweatdrops) Okay, now that the cast interviews are REALLY finished, it's time for the out-takes!

**Out-take 1: The introductory cottage scene in chapter 1:**

Aqua: Ah, Loco-chan is out buying the groceries… (creak of door opening) Oh! That must be her now!

Loco: (opens the door really slowly...) (walks in the door really slowly…) (goes to the table really slowly…)

Rapunzel: For goodness sakes! Isn't she done yet?(!)

Loco: (angrily, struggling under groceries) These groceries are heavy, okay!

**Out-take 2: Dorothy's "glamorous" entrance in chapter 2:**

Take one!

Dorothy: (falls through roof) AHHHH!

Chi: Nice scream, but it sounds too common… Could you try out a few new ones?

Dorothy: WHAT? I have to fall through the roof another time?(!)

Chi: Yes. Please?

Dorothy: Oh, alright…

Take two!

Dorothy: (falls through roof) EEEEK!

Chi: CUT! That scream sounds annoying. Try another one.

Take three!

Dorothy: (falls through roof) ARGH!

Chi: …It sounds too angry and not surprised enough. Again!

Take four!

Dorothy: (falls through roof) URGH!

Chi: …It sounds like you're throwing up or something. Let's try again!

Take five!

Dorothy: (falls through roof) IYAAAN!

Rolan: Hey! That's MY signature scream!

Chi: CUT!

Take six!

Dorothy: (falls through roof) UGHUU!

Chi: …Was that an anime reference?

Take seven!

Dorothy: (falls through roof) EEEP!

Chi: No, no, NO! It's all WRONG! Try again!

Take eight!

Dorothy: It's times like this I wish I had a stunt double… (falls through roof) NOOO!

Chi: Still not right…

Take nine!

Dorothy: (falls through roof) ASDFASDF!

Chi: …Is that even pronounceable?

Take ten!

Dorothy: (falls through roof) Booga booga!

Chi: …Okay, now you're just being silly.

Take eleven!

Dorothy: (falls through roof) I HATE YOU!

Chi: CUT! …Wait, what?

Take twelve!

Dorothy: (Is anyone even reading these anymore?) NYOROYOOOOO!

Chi: …Was that ANOTHER anime reference?

Take 42! (Because it is the answer to life, the universe, and everything!)

Chi: …You know what? Let's just scrap the screaming scene.

Dorothy: (all scratched, bruised, and with splinters in her hair) YES. THANK YOU.

(And so, THAT is the reason why there was no screaming Dorothy in the story.)

**Out-take 3: Entrance of the inanimate objects turned human in chapter 3:**

Dorothy: (standing in front of a teddy bear, teacup, flower pot, and lamp) I hate my job… Hum dum la dee da HYAH! (waves broom)

(A thick smoke fills the air)

Ginta, Snow, and Alviss: (jump out of the smoke)

Ginta: (looking around) Hey, where's Jack?

Jack: (rushes in) …Oh. Are we filming now?

Snow: JACK!

Alviss: You just ruined our scene…

Jack: Sorry! I was on my lunch break!

**Out-take 4: Random scene between Ed, Rou, and Galian between chapters 3 and 4:**

Take one!

Galian: Techno music hasn't been invented yet!

Magical Rou: Well, how about…

Rou and Ed: Some DISCO DANCING instead?

(Disco ball and strobe lights appear out of nowhere)

Galian: …What.

Take two!

Galian: For the last time… Techno music hasn't been invented yet!

Edward: Well, if that's the case…

Ed and Rou: LET'S PARTY LIKE IT'S 1999!

Galian: …It's NOT.

**Out-take 5: Is Giromu secretly a cheerleader?(!) Chapter 4:**

Rapunzel: (drills through the bars with her hair) Muhahaha!

Giromu: (cheerleader style, with pompoms) Go sister! You're the best, even better than the rest!

Chi: (giggles silently)

Giromu: (notices) IF YOU EVER POST THIS, I'LL KILL YOU, FEED YOUR FLESH TO RATS, GRIND YOUR BONES TO POWDER, AND THROW EVERYTHING DOWN INTO THE DEEPEST DARKEST PIT!

Chi: …Eep.

**Out-take 6: Rapunzel rampage, chapter 4:**

Rapunzel: (bursts out of wall) RAWR! (Breaks tables) RAR! (throws food everywhere) RAWG! (breaths fire) ROARGWARGAH!

Giromu: …Sis…ter?

Galian: (staring in utter shock) …What the hell, is she some kind of Godzilla?

Chi: Cut! CUT! Rapunzel, what's wrong with you?

Rapunzel: (still on rampage) RAAAA!

**Out-take 7: Nanashi reverts back to his old perverted self… chapter 5:**

Rolan: (Looking around the ballroom) Hey, Nanashi-san. There's so many girls here, aren't there? I didn't even know we had this many girls in our village…

Nanashi: …

Rolan: Nanashi-san?

Nanashi: (trying to hold back giggles)

Rolan: …Nanashi?

Nanashi: I CAN'T HOLD IT IN ANYMORE! COME HERE LADIES! (starts chasing all the girls as they run screaming away from him)

Rolan: Iyaan! He's reverted back to his old self again!

(off-set, Aqua and Loco are watching)

Loco: …You don't REALLY like him, do you, Aqua? I mean, he's just a lecherous old scumbag. He'll never be faithful or loyal to you.

Aqua: …

Chi: Oh for goddesses sake! CUT! (tranquilizes Nanashi with a dart gun)

(Galian, Edward, and Magical Rou are watching from balcony)

Galian: …Darn you Nanashi; you give Luberia a bad name!

Ed and Rou: … (sweatdrop)

**Out-take 8: Rapunzel climbs a wall! Chapter 6:**

(outside the castle, in the shadows)

Kimera: Fine. But you must remember to hold onto your end of the promise.

Rapunzel: Whatever. (reads script) Hmm? What the heck is all this supposed to mean?(!) "Climb up to the prince's balcony using my hair like spider legs"? What?(!)

Chi: (off-screen) Just do it!

Rapunzel: Fine. (starts climbing with her hands)

Chi: No! You're supposed to use your hair to climb the wall!

Rapunzel: How the heck am I supposed to do that?(!)

Chi: Just try it!

Rapunzel: Fine, fine! (hooks her hair onto crevices inn the walls, then lets go with her hands) Hey, it's working! It's—whahhhh! (slips and falls into some bushes)

Kimera: Doc Oc you're not.

Rapunzel: Shut up!

**Out-take 9: Caught like a fish in a net… chapter 6:**

Gido: Ahhh! (gets caught in net)

Ian: GIDO! (turns towards Kimera, who hoisting up the net with Gido in it) You let her go!

Kimera: Fat chance! (net rips, causing Gido to fall back into the sea) …Whoops.

Ian: (really shocked) Gido! Are you alright?(!)

Gido: (shaken) Oh, I'm okay. I just had a 15 foot fall is all. (being sarcastic)

Kimera: I need a better net…

**Out-take 10: More "your sister" jokes… chapter 7:**

Ginta: Your sister's so ugly, she makes people run away in fear!

Jack: Your sister's so ugly, she turns people into stone!

Snow: Your sister's so ugly, she gets sent to jail because of her face!

Giromu: (angrily) Shut up! All of you! Just shut up!

Alviss: …

Ginta: Uh, Alviss? It's your turn again.

Alviss: (flatly) No. I won't say anything else. I don't want it to be a repeat of last time.

Jack: Aw, don't worry. We won't over-react.

Alviss: Promise?

Snow: Promise!

Alviss: (sighing) Fine. Giromu, your sister's so ugly, she makes ice cream cones melt just by looking at them.

Giromu: …

Ginta, Snow, and Jack: …

Alviss: …Well?

Ginta: Alviss, you're harsh!

Jack: Yeah, that's so mean!

Snow: Leave the innocent ice cream cones out of this!

Alviss: (sighs) Here we go again…

**Out-take 11: You'd be blind too if you saw what he saw… chapter 7:**

(at the dark castle on the island)

Rapunzel: What do you think I do in my spare time? Go shopping? (reveals battle outfit)

Nanashi: (falls to the ground, clutching his eyes) ARGH! My eyes! MY EYES!

Rapunzel: EH? But I'm sexy! I'm a sexy mama!

(off-set…)

Ginta: See? Your sister's so ugly, she blinds people!

Giromu: …STFU.

**Out-take 12: Loco shows her ARM in chapter 8:**

Loco: Leave it to me. (takes out the darkness ARM from her suitcase)

Chi: Go on, say it.

Loco: …

Chi: Please?

Loco: …Oh, hell! (Throws down hammer) I refuse to say such stupid garbage! (goes off-set)

Aqua: Wait, Loco! (rushes after her)

Rolan: So…what did you want her to say?

Chi: …I just wanted her to say, "hammer time!"

Rolan and Gido: (facefall)

**Out-take 13: If the "fake ending" REALLY happened; chapter 9:**

Loco: (rushes in to Chi's room) What, what, WHAT! How could you kill off everyone, after all that's happened!

Aqua: (rushes in also) Yes, this isn't the ending that you promised!

(more characters storm the place)

Dorothy: (angrily) I DEMAND a re-write!

Rolan: If the story ends like that, no one will like it!

Nanashi: No fair, you don't even tell the readers if I live or not!

Alviss: Well, it did say that EVERYONE died, so OBVIOUSLY you didn't survive.

Nanashi: (sad puppy face)

Ginta: Well, it's not like we can help it. We're (me, Jack, Snow, and Alviss) are already dead…

Snow: Aww…

Jack: I dun like being dead…

Chi: (shouting) Guys, GUYS! Let me restate this. That was all only a JOKE I was planning to put up in the beginning of the chapter. So it didn't REALLY happen.

Everyone: …Oh.

------------------

Chi: And THAT ends this omake! I hope you had lots of fun reading this—

Loco: --random crud.

Chi: WHAT?(!) Hey! (pushes Loco away)

Aqua: (pops out of nowhere) I hope you enjoyed this weird little piece! If you all write enough reviews for this fanfic, Chibi may just consider writing another MAR parody!

Chi: Hey, that's MY line! And I didn't say that!

Alviss: …Let's just cut to the credits…

**EL FIN!**


End file.
